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Tag: macau

  • Macau to Test No-Smoking Zones

    Macau to Test No-Smoking Zones

    Two pavements (sidewalks) in Macau will become trial no-smoking zones next year, officials said, noting no penalties will apply during the test. The measure aims to assess public response as the government considers wider outdoor smoking restrictions. The Health Bureau said Macau’s narrow streets limit options for smoking booths, so authorities are planning designated outdoor smoking areas with clear markings and signage. The trial follows successful smoke-free zones recently set up near several schools.

    Smoking rates in Macau have dropped 31.4% since 2012, and the government has already banned the import, export, and sale of e-cigarettes. Officials now plan to make e-cigarette possession illegal as part of tightening tobacco-control measures.

  • Macau Considers Full Ban on E-Cigarette Possession

    Macau Considers Full Ban on E-Cigarette Possession

    The Macau Health Bureau is considering a full ban on e-cigarette possession, expanding current rules that already prohibit their sale, manufacture, and import/export. Lam Chong, head of the bureau’s Office for the Prevention and Control of Smoking and Alcohol, said authorities are also reviewing regulations on shisha and herbal cigarettes.

    The bureau plans a one-year trial of designated smoking areas in busy locations, including the Ruins of St. Paul’s and Border Gate Square, focusing first on public education before penalties are enforced. Rising youth usage is a concern, with reports showing e-cigarette use among students overtaking traditional smoking.

  • Cigarette Plain Packaging Among Tobacco Law Changes Macau Considering 

    Cigarette Plain Packaging Among Tobacco Law Changes Macau Considering 

    The Macau government plans to amend its tobacco control law, with Health Bureau director Alvis Lo Iek Long saying that standardized “plain packaging” for cigarettes will be a key measure to reduce tobacco’s appeal to young people.

    In an interview with public broadcaster TDM, Lo confirmed authorities are speeding up preliminary work on such a measure but noted no timeline has been set due to the legislative process.

    The proposed revisions also include expanding outdoor smoking bans to areas near schools and daycare centers, mirroring existing bus stop restrictions. Authorities also plan to trial “designated smoking areas” based on international models, aiming to balance the rights of smokers and non-smokers. Additionally, the amendment seeks to prohibit the import and sale of novel tobacco products, such as Middle Eastern shisha and herbal cigarettes.

    The current law allows different management entities to designate no-smoking zones, however, Lo said officials are working on pilot programs to define “smoking points” and establish clear signage systems, though specific trial locations have yet to be finalized.

  • Macau Mulls More E-Cig Restrictions

    Macau Mulls More E-Cig Restrictions

    Photo: javarman

    Macau’s executive council wants to ban the production, sale, distribution, import, export and transport of vapor products in the special administrative region (SAR), reports Macau Business. 

    Under changes proposed to the tobacco control law, violators would risk fines of MOP4,000 ($500).

    The current law defines an e-cigarette as any product, or component thereof, that can be used to inhale vapor, with or without nicotine, by means of a mouthpiece, including a cartridge, a reservoir, as well as the device without a cartridge or reservoir. 

    The sale of electronic cigarettes in the city has been restricted since 2017; the recently proposed amendment expands the scope of the restrictions. 

    Still, Health Bureau Director Alvis Lo said the measure was intended to protect public health. “The use of electronic cigarettes is harmful to health, namely, it causes harmful effects to pregnant women, children and adolescents, and also exposing non-smokers to nicotine and other harmful chemicals,” Lo said.

    Following years of antismoking campaigns, consumption of traditional cigarettes among people over the age of 15 in Macau dropped to 10.7 percent in 2019.