Rachel Tou Wing Sze & Leong Mei PouSetting up a grace period for the implementation of a smoking ban in Macau's casinos is "not sound public health policy" and will result in "the expense of workers' health", James Rarick, technical officer of the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region Office, said yesterday.
In an email to The Macau Post Daily yesterday, Rarick pointed out that many studies have shown that casino smoking bans do not necessarily lead to revenue loss in the gaming sector.
Andrew Chan Chak Mo, president of the Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL), said yesterday that the government and his committee had agreed to set up two different grace periods for casinos and other entertainment venues such as sauna parlours, night clubs, massage parlours and bars, before imposing a blanket smoking ban in enclosed public places.
Although the government suggested earlier to set up a grace period for all the five entertainment venues for between two to three years, respectively, government representatives yesterday withdrew their proposal because they still have not decided on the respective grace period durations, according to Chan.
"Since the gaming sector is a key branch of Macau's economy, the government may not want to say when they will impose the smoking ban in casinos in case this would cause a great impact on the local economy," Chan said.
Chan made the remarks after a closed-door meeting of his his committee with Health Bureau Director Lei Chin Ion and other government representatives at the legislative chambers yesterday.
"Several credible studies have shown that smoking bans do not lead to a loss of revenue," Rarick wrote.
He added that the government's proposal to set up a grace period in order to find a "balance' between the business of the gaming sector and the public's health "would be done at the expense of workers' health and is not sound public health policy."At the end of last year, 18,274 people worked as casino dealers (croupiers), while some 12,040 people worked casino supervisors, cashiers and in similar positions, and 5,283 people worked as slot machine attendants, security guards, waiting staff and in other casino jobs, according to the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC).
"The government of Macau, as a Special Administrative Region of China, is obligated through China's ratification of the WHO FCTC (the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control) to implement effective measures to protect workers from exposure to tobacco smoke," Rarick wrote.
The WHO FCTC, which took effect in 2005, is the world's first public health treaty. It states that citizens have the "fundamental human right" to get "the highest attainable standard of health" and governments have the duty to protect individuals from tobacco smoke as a "serious threat to their right to health". China ratified the treaty in August 2005.
Meanwhile, SJM Director Ambrose So Shu Fai told reporters yesterday that the government's decision to withdraw its proposal showed that they had listened to the opinions from the gaming sector.
So, whose company currently owns 20 of Macau's 33 casinos, also suggested setting up some smoking areas in VIP rooms at casinos after the eventual imposition of the tobacco ban.
However, directly-elected-legislator-cum-social activist Antonio Ng Kuok Cheong said that the government's stance was not firm enough to impose a total tobacco ban in enclosed public places.
"I think the Health Bureau's head was given a lot of pressure not only from the business sector, but also from the policy secretary [for social affairs and culture Cheong U]," Ng told The Macau Post Daily by phone yesterday.
Ng said that it was "unreasonable" for the government to delay implementing tobacco ban measures.
"It was in January when the legislature passed the outline of the bill. But the government is still unable to tell us when they can provide us with a revised draft of the bill," Ng saidMeanwhile, the government also has withdrawn its previous suggestion to empower the chief executive as the only person to make the decision of when to impose a tobacco ban in casinos after the grace period.
The Health Bureau (SSM) said in as statement last week the government had decided to withdraw that suggestion because it was found not to comply with certain legal norms.
The legislature passed the outline of the anti-tobacco amendment bill in January. Lawmakers will continue discussing the bill after the legislature's two-month summer break starting on August 15. No date for the bill's second and final vote has been set.
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