Over 4,000 violations recorded in smoking, alcohol crackdown

Local authorities have cracked down on illegal smoking and underage alcohol sales, recording more than 4,000 violations from January to September this year, the Health Bureau (SSM) reported.

For the first nine months of the year, inspections of 179,000 venues uncovered a total of 4,054 violations of the Tobacco Control Law and Alcohol Control Law, according to figures released by the SSM.

SSM, the Public Security Police Force, Municipal Affairs Bureau, Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, and Customs jointly identified 3,744 illegal smoking cases, 196 cases involving carrying e-cigarettes across the border, and 103 cases suspected of violating other provisions of the Tobacco Control Law.

Other violations include failure to display no-smoking signs in legally mandated locations and tobacco sales outlets failing to display notices prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age.

Venue categories with the highest number of illegal smoking cases included 842 gaming venues (22.5%), 552 restaurants (14.7%), and 319 parks/gardens and leisure areas (8.5%).

Under the Alcohol Control Law, a total of 11 suspected violations were recorded as of last month, including three cases involving the illegal sale or provision of alcoholic beverages to minors.

SSM recently discovered a case in which a minor commissioned an adult to purchase alcoholic beverages.

While the supermarket strictly complied with the prohibition against selling to minors, the adult allegedly failed to comply with the law prohibiting supplying alcohol to minors.

Violators of the Alcohol Control Law may face fines ranging from MOP1,500 to MOP20,000, while fines for Tobacco Control Law violations range from MOP20,000 to MOP200,000. Ricaela Diputado