Smoking ban: Both sides complaining

TAWAU: The Health Department here received numerous complaints from both smokers and non-smokers pertaining to the smoking ban at eateries, which will be enforced nationwide beginning next year.

Its Environmental Health section officer, Rahman Sampe, said most of the complaints were received via its website.

“Complaints from smokers are mostly on the ban itself which they disagree, while complaints from non-smokers are mostly on smokers still smoking in eateries,” he said during a breaking of fast session with members of the Tawau Food and Beverage Traders Association led by its Chairman Chau Oi Keong, here. “Presently, we do not impose any penalty and, instead, provide advisory services to smokers who breach the regulation,” said Rahman.

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According to him, some 80 per cent of eateries in the district have complied with the new requirement. Meanwhile, Chau said the smoking ban has led to eateries suffering about a 30 per cent drop in the number of patrons and prompted smoking clients to smoke outside of eateries in accordance to the requirement.

“In this respect, I urge the Government to give some flexibility for smokers as they are not criminals,” said Chau, a smoker himself. He said many smokers are good mannered and will not smoke in the presence of non-smokers, especially with women or children around.

“We generally would move to a distance table to smoke when there are non-smokers nearby and this shows not all smokers are ill-mannered, and maybe a solution can be found for us to be able to smoke while having beverage in a special area,” he suggested.

Chau said they are generally in agreement with the smoking ban but not providing a smoking avenue will have a negative impact.

“Certainly we will have less customers and smokers without a designated smoking area will smoke anywhere and cigarette butts will be littered around and thus become an eyesore.

“By having a designated smoking area, the activity will be confined and less rubbish will be discarded while giving operators a better chance to keep their customers.”

After months of talk about banning smoking at eateries, including hawker stalls and mamaks, Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said recently the Government will enforce a no-smoking policy nationwide, beginning next year.

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Announcing this while chairing a health forum at the Asian Institute of Medical, Science and Technology in Kedah, he further explained that the ban will cover all air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned restaurants, coffee shops, open-air hawker centres and street stalls.

With the ban in place, those caught smoking at non-smoking areas will face a fine of RM10,000 and eateries that don’t enforce this ruling will be fined RM2,500.

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