Macau (MNA) – According to a release sent out on Monday, the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) met with the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) and discussed the effects and challenges of the revised smoking ban.
The release states that although the overall impact of the smoking ban has been satisfactory, smoking still heavily takes place at VIP gaming rooms in casinos, with Health Bureau (SS) statistics between January 1 and 15 showing an increased prosecution rate by 20 per cent from the same period last year.
Inspections were reportedly doubled between that period, with the Tobacco Control Office having patrolled casinos 152 times and prosecuting 105 people for illegal smoking.
The FAOM hopes that authorities will step up and strengthen cooperation work between all relevant departments by fully utilising casino employees to increase inspections and enforcement of the smoking ban, as well as setting up a 24 hour complaint hotline that can be used by gaming workers.
The Union also points out that the VIP rooms of Wynn Palace, Wynn Macau, Sociedades de Jogos de Macau S.A. (SJM Holdings) and MGM are the top black spots for illegal smoking; with Suncity Group, Meg-Star Group, and GuangDong Group VIP rooms actually providing cigarettes and lighters to guests on top of not allowing employees to remind guests that smoking in restricted areas is not allowed.
In addition to some authorised smoking rooms in casinos having smoke leaks, the FAOM states that there are a few casinos that have opened up unapproved smoking rooms for guests.
The Deputy Director of DICJ, Leong Man Ion, responded to the concerns and expresses that a lack of manpower poses certain difficulties in the supervision of illegal smoking, but pledges to communicate with relevant authorities in stepping up on-location inspections as well as ensuring the effective implementation of new measures.
Meanwhile, the release also states that DICJ will seriously consider installing a hotline for gaming workers to monitor guests’ tobacco consumption as a supplement to the tobacco control hotline.
The enforcement of the revised smoking ban on January 1 has already brought numerous headaches to the gaming industry, including a firearm discharging incident and revenue impacts from casinos that don’t have authorised smoking rooms, as well as the ever increasing number of infractions prosecuted by the Tobacco Control Office.
