Hong Kong’s health chief has urged Hongkongers to stare at people who light up areas where smoking is banned.
“When the members of the public see people smoking in non-smoking areas, even if no law enforcement officers can show up immediately, we can stare at the smokers,” said Lo Chung-mau at the Legislative Council on Friday.
Dr. Lo said that the city needed to foster a culture where “people are willing to comply with the law,” adding that law enforcement will be improved.
Currently, Hongkongers face a fine of HK$1,500 for smoking in prohibited areas, such as restaurants, workplaces or some outdoor places like bus stops. Tighter rules are being considering, such as tax hikes and banning people born after a certain year from buying tobacco.
Lo said that, if police arrive at a scene, the crime may have already have stopped. Therefore, enforcement of smoking rules should be comparable to the rules expected when queuing for a bus: “No one will say it requires the law to compel people to queue. Our society is able to create a culture where people will comply with this rule of queuing when waiting for buses. I hope the whole of society can build a non-smoking culture,” he said.
On Wednesday, the government launched a consultation paper for the new anti-smoking strategies.
“Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year,” according to the World Health Organization. “More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke,” its website says.
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