Macau’s Health Bureau says it prosecuted 665 cases of illegal smoking in casinos over the first five months of 2018, an increase of 152% over the same period last year following the introduction of strict new tobacco control laws.
The Health Bureau said it conducted 368 joint inspections of casinos alongside the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, prosecting 665 people in the process – 401 people more than the 264 people it prosecuted between January and May in 2017.
The vast majority of those fined were male tourists – men accounted for 628 (94.4%) cases while 587 (88.3%) of those prosecuted were tourists.
In total, the Health Bureau said that tobacco control law enforcement personnel had inspected 1,767,788 places between 1 January 2018 and 31 May 2018 at an average of 754 locations per day, prosecuting 46,984 cases of violations.
Macau introduced its New Tobacco Control Act from 1 January this year, extending non-smoking areas across the city including a ban on smoking in the VIP areas of casinos. However, casino operators have 12 months before they must fully implement the ban at which time smoking will only be allowed inside specially ventilated smoking rooms.
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