by Cathy Lam
Posters with the slogan “A new era of smoke-free Macao” can be seen everywhere in our city to publicize the new regulation to the public. The Macao government passed Section 3 and Schedule 2 of the amended Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap. 371) at the Legislative Assembly to ban smoking in public areas effective on January 1, 2012. Yet, the newly established law had granted exceptions for 50% of the casinos’ areas. The half-area non-smoking rule in casinos will be effective on January 1, 2013.
According to the new act, casinos are allowed to set up designated smoking areas with areas less than 50% of the total gaming area before the beginning of 2013. Those smoking areas need to conform to the regulation set up by the Health Bureau. Smoking areas must be set above the non-smoking areas. If the casinos just have one floor, they must set up a buffer area with air supply, return air systems, damper systems and set at least a two-meter high airtight wall. Any casinos failing to follow the regulations, the Chief Executive may decide to reduce or cancel the smoking area in the casino.
Casinos are sites that attract most tourists in Macao. As of August 2012,more than 18 million tourists came to Macao in the first eight months. With this huge number of tourists visiting Macao and supporting the tourism industry, is it reasonable to make casinos more “special” in terms of smoke-free regulation?
“People enjoy smoking while they are gambling. If non-smoking is carried out in all the casinos, it somehow means to discourage them to visit Macao for gambling, which in return will affect the gaming revenues,” Chio Yuen Ming, a dealer working in one of the Macao’s casinos, emphasized.
The new policy is aimed to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco and provide a better living environment for local citizens. Ng Kwok Cheong, a legislator, pointed out that the government imposed the new act as they wanted to reach the World Health Organization(WHO)’s standard in order to promote Macao into an “international and travel leisure center” rather than a concern about really turning Macao unto a “smoke-free” city.
In addition to the concern of the international image, the casino workers’ health is also worth to consider. There are 31 casinos in Macao, as of the second season of 2012, there were 53,000 local residents working in casinos, an increase of 11.6% compared with that of last year.
“Gamblers prefer to sit in the smoking area than the non-smoking area. During this transition period, it’s all at the cost of casino workers’ health,” Chan Hong Fat, a VIP server working in a high limit bet area, complained.
As a number of new casinos are still in their completion, more areas of casinos will be added. Moreover, it seems impossible to prevent the spread of cigarette smoke in an open gaming area. With the above concerns relating to the gaming revenue received by the government, it appears to be difficult for the government to push for a tighter smoking regulation in casinos. Thus the promise of “a new era of smoke-free Macao” may just be an oxymoron and citizens’ hope to enjoy fully fresh air in Macao is merely a pipe dream.
Will the government implement a stricter regulation in the future towards smoking in casinos? “It depends on the development of emerging gambling countries such as Singapore,” Ng added.