Tourists hit with 1,300-plus fines for smoking this year

In the first five months of this year, a total of 259 inspections were conducted by the Health Bureau and the Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (DICJ) to prevent illegal smoking. Some 256 individuals were apprehended, 92.6 per cent of whom were male, with 211 or 82.4 per cent tourists, according to the Health Bureau.
These inspections were part of the 140,577 inspections of establishments conducted by the groups, amounting to an average of 931 daily inspections. Some 3,346 citations were recorded, with four relating to misleading information on carton labels.
In all, 1,762 fines were issued to residents for the infractions, with 1,397 applied to tourists and 187 to non-residents. Eighty-one cases required the assistance of the security forces.
Since its enforcement, some 41,295 citations have been served for breaking the prevention and control of tobacco law.