Residents suggest removing ashtrays near bus stops

During Sunday’s Macao Forum, many residents expressed their disagreement with the government’s decision to place ashtrays within the 10-meter radius of bus areas in which smoking is prohibited.

Some of the residents who voiced their opinions suggested the government should clearly define the area in which smoking is prohibited around bus stops because it is not always clearly delineated.

These same residents noted that the grey line used by the government to mark the boundary is often imperceptible.

The residents expressed the hope that the related government authority reconsider whether it is appropriate to place ashtrays next to bus areas because the ashtrays might encourage people gathering next to them, which in turn increases second- hand smoke.

These residents argued that the prohibited area alone does not actually stop people standing within it from breathing in second-hand smoke.

The Chief of the Tobacco Control and Prevention Office, Tang Chi Ho, said that his office received several complaints about the grey line being unclear.

According to Tang, the authority is considering to gradually change the color of these lines into white, which they believe will be more clearly distinguishable.

The city’s new tobacco control law came into effect from the first day of the new year.

Tang informed that, between January 1 and 12, his office prosecuted 180 smokers, which represents a 21 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.