DBKU beefs up smoke-free drive at no-aircond eateries
KUCHING: The Kuching City North Commission ( DBKU) has distributed 341 ‘smoke-free zone’ notices at food premises with no air- conditioning under its jurisdiction.
According to Kuching North Datuk Bandar Datuk Abang Abdul Wahap Abang Julai, this campaign is run in preparation for gazetting these premises as non-smoking zones next year.
He said so far, DBKU has not prosecuted any offender; instead, it aims to educate the public on the concept of smokefree zones.
“Once we have gazetted all the food outlets as non- smoking zones, only then could we impose fine on the offenders for smoking,” he said during a visit to one of the food premises at Jalan Satok here yesterday.
However, the issuance of compounds remains the responsibility of the Health Department under the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004.
Abang Wahap also said it would be up to the owners of the food premises to decide where to designate their ‘ smoke-free zone’.
Moreover, he said the smoke-free zones for premises with no air- conditioning would only be applicable inside of the building – not at the fivefootway.
“But if the owners want to impose smoke-free zone ( policy) even on customers sitting at their five-footways, that is up to them.”
According to Abdul Wahap, DBKU uses the word ‘Educate’ as their strategy:
E – ‘ Engaging with stakeholders and community on the danger of smoking’;
D – ‘ Designating smoke free zones’;
U – ‘ Undertaking to lead by implementing the programme through educating the public’;
C – ‘Creating awareness on the danger of smoking’;
A – ‘Advocating towards a tobacco-free generation’;
T– ‘ Training of TFF ( Tobacco-Free Generation) champions’, and;
E – ‘Enforcing the relevant laws’.
Meanwhile, state Health Department’s Tobacco Enforcement and Control Unit representative Abon Kip said this move is aimed at protecting non- smokers from the dangers of inhaling secondary smoke.
“It is also in line with Article 8 of the ‘World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’, of which Malaysia was a signatory in 2005,” he said.