<strong>China Macau: Cheong U Positive towards Smoking Room Proposal</strong>

Source from:  Macau Daily Times (mo)  12/18/2013

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Cheong U, has said that he thinks the proposal from casinos to set up smoking rooms in the mass area might be the "twilight" of the smoking issue. He also suggested that all 14 casinos that failed the air quality test had submitted their new floor plans on December 10, in contrast to a press release previously issued by the Health Bureau (SSM).

"In future development, there is a chance to set up a gambling-table-free smoking area that is less than 50 percent of the total area. Of course, the area will be smaller if there are no gambling tables. This will mean greater protection for all parties, including visitors and employees," said Mr. Cheong. He added that the government will negotiate with the casinos to determine whether the table-free smoking room will be included in the smoking area of the casino. The Secretary reiterated that the government wants to see the air quality situation improve, a consideration which is the crucial criterion for any proposal.

Meanwhile, Mr. Cheong was also asked about the submission of some casinos' new floor plans. He has contradicted the previous SSM statement and said that all documents were submitted within the legal time-frame. SSM is analyzing the documents and Mr. Cheong said that the process will be completed at the end of January. Enditem