The Health Ministry is not messing about when it comes to smokers who light up in air-conditioned areas — a total of 179 people have been fined for smoking in shops and malls under the ministry’s Ops Hawa Dingin, which began on September 30.
Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the operations were carried out on 888 air-conditioned premises, and involved handing out fines of at least RM250 per infraction.
To date, RM44,750 in fines had been collected.
“As many as 133 smokers were fined for smoking in shopping complexes, 45 in air-conditioned food outlets and one in an air-conditioned shop,” he said yesterday, as quoted by Bernama.
He said Ops Hawa Dingin was carried out in accordance with the Control of Tobacco Product 2004 Regulations Series 7/2014 Enforcement Operations, to protect the public from the dangers of second-hand smoke, especially in enclosed air-conditioned areas, and to remind smokers not to light up in prohibited areas.
The Control of Tobacco Product 2004 Regulations state that non-smoking areas in buildings include all areas within the buildings and all walkways covered by permanent roofs.
Besides the smokers themselves, 17 owners of air-conditioned premises were also fined in the operation, for failing to display signs prohibiting patrons from smoking.
“Those who fail to pay the fine during the specified period given to then would be charged in court and if found guilty, they could be fined not more than RM10,000 or sentenced to jail for not more than two years,” Dr Noor Hisham said.
