In response to inquiries on how to make a city tobacco-free, Lo Chung-mau added that it was unrealistic to expect the police to find smokers.
At the moment, Hong Kong is contemplating strengthening its cigarette control laws.
Currently, smoking is prohibited in most indoor public locations, including restaurants, offices, and certain outdoor public venues.
Prof. Lo told fellow lawmakers at a health forum that the public has a role to play in reducing smoking and that it would be difficult for police officers to catch smokers in the act in time after holding a public consultation to do so in Hong Kong.
Prof. Lo, a medical doctor as well, claimed that smoking was harmful to everyone’s health and that Hong Kong needed to develop a “culture in society where people are willing to obey the law.””Even if no law enforcement officers can arrive right away, we can stare at the smokers when the public sees people smoking in non-smoking areas.”
The panel was informed by Prof. Lo that law enforcement will be improved. The current smoking ban carries a fine of up to HK$1,500 ($192; £147).
He continued by saying that smoking regulations should be enforced like etiquette over waiting for a bus, adding that when police “arrive at the scene, the crime may have already stopped” and they are unable to intervene.
“No one will argue that forcing people to stand in line needs to be legal. It is possible for our society to foster a culture in which people wait in lines when waiting for buses. I’m hoping that society as a whole can develop a non-smoking culture.
The Hong Kong government is considering new policies that include excluding those born after a specific year from purchasing tobacco products and drastically raising the fee on a package of smokes.
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