More than 200 calls have been made to a watchdog monitoring the enforcement of an anti-smoking law.
In a submission to lawmakers, the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health said callers claimed the law, which bars smoking in public areas, had been ineffective since it came into operation on July 1, 1998.
Shortcomings included: Inadequate no-smoking signs; Many people seen smoking in shopping malls; Management not acting against smokers; No prosecution has ever been taken place.
The council said shopping malls displayed 'no-smoking' signs, but management very often did not take action because they did not know what action to take.
It said there had also been complaints since restaurants were required, from last July, to designate not less than one-third of their area as no-smoking.
Callers said smokers were still found in no-smoking areas; restaurants did not designate a big enough no-smoking area and some restaurants designated the no-smoking area in VIP rooms and charged more.
