Hk smokers fuming over new ban; old habits die hard
| A man walks past a no smoking sign in a shopping mall in Hong Kong. The year 2006 will end in a puff of smoke across Hong Kong when a ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and offices comes into effect. |
| Dec. 30 - The year 2006 will end in a puff of smoke across Hong Kong when a ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and offices comes into effect -- and the new law has left many fuming.
Tobacco police will be out in force on New Year's Eve, ready to stub out offenders after the clock strikes midnight, as Hong Kong becomes the latest major city to embrace the anti-smoking movement. But in a place where the fat-cats of finance celebrate mega-deals with cigars over dinner, and the smoky haze of karaoke bars never seems quite bad as the air pollution outside, the drive to go smoke-free has plenty of critics. "I've been smoking since I was 14 and I'm still alive. How can they say smoking will kill me?" said Lam Kin-shing, a 70-year-old retired construction worker who pledged to ignore the law. Hong Kong approved the anti-smoking legislation in October and launched a public relations campaign to rally support for the ban, warning of the dangers of second-hand smoke and calling for clean and fresh air. It was an appeal that got little sympathy from many in this southern Chinese city, where health authorities have to provide daily alerts on air quality because of the choking smog created by the mainland's enormous factories. Hong Kong had long been mulling a ban in a bid to protect the more than 200,000 people employed in the hospitality trade, and the law brings the city in line with New York and other major cities where indoor smoking is taboo. In an attempt to appease the city's legions of diehard smokers, the government has designated 255 areas in public parks and playgrounds across the territory where lighting up will still be allowed. Outside some office buildings, yellow lines have been painted to outline smoking areas. Those who fail to abide by the new regulations can be fined up to 5,000 Hong Kong (US$640) dollars. But authorities allowed nightclubs, bathhouses, and massage and mahjong parlours to apply for a delay that would keep them from having to become smoke-free until July 2009. Anthony Lock, managing director of California Red Karaoke, a chain of bars, said he estimated that 70 percent of the clientele were smokers -- and that he expected to drop off by 20 percent at first. He said the company started a non-smoking campaign more than a year ago to raise the awareness of staff and customers. "We are doing our best to reduce the health risks and hope that the impact on our business can also be reduced," he said. Still, old habits die hard, and many Hong Kongers say the law could help them muster up the willpower to cut down -- which is just what the government wants, after all. "I've been smoking for years," said 45-year-old Leung Ping-hung, puffing away outside his downtown office building. "At least it would force me to smoke less or quit." |