SCMP
I refer to the letter by David Tjian (“Officers failing to be proactive”, July 3) about people breaking no-smoking rules.
There are some people who break the law on purpose. I saw a man smoking at a food stall in the government market complex at Sheung Shui. Rather than phoning the Tobacco Control Office, diners just moved away from him. I can understand this. Gangsters can cause problems and the ones who eventually suffer can be stall owners and their families.
I saw a Hospital Authority poster at Fanling Medical Centre in nine languages reminding people that those who violated the no-smoking ban would be fined.
However, I see no similar posters from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department or Tobacco Control Office in food courts. The authorities are not treating the smoking ban as a priority.
This is in contrast to America, where they take the smoking ban regulations very seriously.
Pang Chi-ming, Fanling