Участник:Macau health commissioner wants tobacco law approved
The Macau Health Bureau, under the leadership of the Macao Health Bureau's director, Lei Chin Ion, initially proposed a number of changes to tobacco laws back in July 2015, including a complete ban on smoking in casinos. The proposal drew a lot of criticism from game operators who believed it would negatively impact total game revenue.
Since then, the bill has been amended to eliminate the complete ban on smoking in casinos and to allow airport-style smoking lounges in casinos. The Government has also commissioned the Special Working Committee to meet all the stakeholders involved and propose better proposals. The new proposal from the Department of Health considers maintaining smoking lounges at casinos unless casino employees and other non-smoking customers are exposed to smoke. The proposal also considers banning the sale of e-cigarettes and imposing tighter restrictions on the sale of tobacco products.
Leitchin Ion and his team are pushing hard for the new tobacco bill to be approved because it will be the final month of the current legislative term. Ion said in a statement: "What we are trying to do is to make sure that this bill is approved before the end of the current legislative term. We're still gathering on whether to have a smoking lounge inside the casino, and we're working on this topic."
If the bill is not approved, the health service must abandon it and begin the process of preparing a new bill for consideration in the next legislative session. The current legislative session in Macau had a two-month break from mid-August to October 15. Until the Legislative Council was broken, a majority of the working members had voted for the proposal to keep smoking lounges on the casino floor.
Chan Chak Mo, Chairman of the working committee Chan Chak Mo confirmed that his committee still feels the same way about tobacco laws and will set up a meeting with the government and share their views. Chak Mo has not confirmed when the next meeting will take place, but confirmed that the government has set a deadline for a feasibility study on smoking lounges in casinos.
The government has previously said it knows the tobacco ban will negatively impact Macau's casino industry, which has experienced 26 consecutive months of declining gross gaming revenue. However, the government decided to prioritize the health of citizens over the casino industry. Raythene Ion has not indicated when the government will enforce the tobacco law