Updated on Jan 07, 2009 – SCMP
I think that the full smoking ban should not be delayed.
However, having a few smoking rooms should be allowed. Smoking is harmful to smokers and passive smokers. And people have been given a grace period to get used to the ban.
However, I accept that given the financial crisis, the government should adopt certain measures to try to help bars and restaurants, some of which are struggling to survive.
I think setting up smoking rooms would be a good idea as it could prevent customers being exposed to passive smoking and it would mean bars and restaurants would not lose customers who want to smoke.
However, if such rooms are allowed, there must be strict monitoring of these facilities to ensure that no harmful substances affect customers outside the smoking rooms.
In the long term, I think the government should provide more programmes to help smokers quit, and it should advertise these programmes.
Jacky Chau Tsz-ki, Tsing Yi