Smokers gasp their last in Hong Kong’s bars as ban takes effect

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Hong Kong is relying on fewer than 100 inspectors to police the ban law.

"It does make you smoke a lot less," said Mike Norton, who arrived in Hong Kong from Britain in February. "In the UK, it very quickly became completely socially unacceptable to smoke in bars."

Still, he said he had no plan to give up, but would instead look for bars with easy access to the street.

"The challenge is to adapt to changing circumstances," said Neil Williams, a spokesman for the British Beer and Pub Association in London. "Certainly you do hear from people who would like to see a change, but that's not something realistic."

The toughest part of Hong Kong's anti-smoking drive may be its implementation. In Austria, a new law mandated that restaurants, bars and nightclubs larger than 80 square meters had to introduce separate smoking and non-smoking areas. By May 2009, Vienna declared the law ineffective.

Greece is making its third attempt in a decade to rein in smokers, after smokers ignored two earlier bans.

Hong Kong's government is relying on fewer than 100 inspectors to police the law, which allows for a fine of up to HK$5,000 ($643) for smokers. There are no sanctions for owners or managers who allow customers to flout the rules.

Faced with the global trend towards prohibition, some bar owners have already made the move.

"Initially it was very hard," said Toby Cooper, who banned smoking at his British style pub in Central two years ago. "I lost many regular customers. But I also got the ones who appreciated the smoking ban."

Some tobacco outlets are even anticipating a gain from the new rules.

Benson Tse, general manager of Cigarro Club, a members-only cigar store Queens Road Central, said he's planning to open another club in nearby Causeway Bay.

The law allows ‘tasting rooms', so long as they have independent ventilation and no serving employees.

"We see more customers coming to our club because they can't smoke anywhere," he said. "We expect a 10 to 15 percent increase in product sales."

This article is courtesy of Bloomberg.

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