Smoking ban hailed as HK butts out (hktdc.com)


	A smoke-free Hong Kong will enhance the city’s international image, business leaders agree

	Christopher Slaughter, club President, in the now smoke-free Foreign Correspondents Club

Hong Kong has joined a growing list of world cities to ban smoking in public places.

On January 1, all pubs, restaurants and indoor public spaces in Hong Kong became smoke-free.

The move is in line with France, which this month (February) banned smoking in all public places, and England, which will follow suit on July 1. Countries including Ireland, Finland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have already restricted smoking in similar locales.

And though some objectors say the ban will be bad for business, most welcome the city’s smoke-free status. In fact, English pubs that have already banned smoking have seen their profits rise by an average of 50 per cent, a 2006 survey by The Times found.

Right decision

"It’s the right decision," agrees Allan Zeman, Chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings Ltd, which runs a string of restaurants and bars in the city’s famous Lan Kwai Fong entertainment precinct.

Adding that anti-smoking is now being advocated in many leading cities around the world, Mr Zeman said the ban would further enhance Hong Kong’s international image.

"It really was time Hong Kong joined the other environmentally friendly cities of the world. (This ban) elevates Hong Kong’s reputation and is a step in the right direction."

Mr Zeman disagrees with some F&B operators who say the ban will be hard to enforce, or that it’s bad for business.

"Other cities have done it, and life goes on," says Mr Zeman, who employs thousands of hospitality staff. "Hong Kong is no different." He expects no problem with compliance, given that Hong Kong people are "very observant of the law".

Broad acceptance

Christopher Slaughter, President of the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC), a professional organisation and social institution in Hong Kong, expected more of a backlash from members. In anticipation, the Club had sought an exemption from the ban, but was not successful.

Of the 2000 email alerts the Club sent to members in the lead-up to the January 1 ban, about 40 replies came back – almost all from non-smokers endorsing the move. "Smokers seem to accept it as a foregone conclusion," Mr Slaughter said.

This could be a sign of the times, he said. The 55-year-old FCC was set up in the days when every journalist had an ashtray by their typewriter, befitting of the craft’s "work hard, play hard" reputation. Nowadays, Mr Slaughter says, taking a pro-smoking stance would seem "morally indefensible".

Personally, he believes the ban does detract from the free choice which is part of Hong Kong’s laissez faire tradition. But since he also reports "complete compliance" from members, who now retreat to the street outside to light up, could that in fact mean it is alive and well?

Majority rules

As smoker Rob Berkley puts it: "Smokers are in a minority, so what can be wrong with majority rules?"

"I know I smoke, but cannot find one good reason to (smoke)," adds Mr Berkley, a pilot with an international airline. "The banning of smoking in restaurants is for the common good - and the banning of smoking in bars, hey we just have to get over that "all my clothes smell of smoke" feeling in the morning."

The ban could even change his 20-year habit, Mr Berkley suggested. "It is approaching winter here and I don’t intend to shiver outside just to have a smoke."

And in entrepreneurial Hong Kong, it could even spawn new business opportunities. Among the first to capitalise is European-based Quit Smoking International, European-based franchise network offering therapy to help smokers quit.

The group recently launched its I Quit Smoking Hong Kong enterprise – its venture first in Asia – expecting to roll out 10 clinics in five years.