14 bookings issued for breach of rules

Four owners of places of entertainment have been booked for breach of smoking regulations since a ban came into force in bars and restaurants last month.

Another 10 bookings have been received by patrons since October 5, the police said in reply to questions by The Times.

The police did not specify whether the statistics were up to October 20, when the questions were sent to the Community and Media Relations Unit, or up to Tuesday when they were received. When asked, an officer at the unit was not able to specify.

The Tobacco (Smoking Control) Act specifies that smoking cannot take place in entertainment establishments unless in designated smoking rooms which must comply with certain specifications.

Anyone found in breach of the rules is liable to a fine of between Lm100 and Lm500 on a first conviction and if the offence spans more than a day a court could impose a fine of between Lm10 and Lm50 for each day.

The law says that on a second conviction, apart from the fines, a person could be liable to imprisonment for up to three months and the licence of the premises where the offence took place could be suspended for between a week and a month.

The police said two complaints were filed by employees about smoking being allowed in an establishment. However, no complaints were received from the licencees of business establishments against people who did not want to stop smoking in their establishments and neither have there been any patrons complaining of others lighting up.

"Random checks have proved that patrons are showing full respect for the new smoking regulations," the police said, adding that whenever a patron unintentionally smokes he or she is reminded of the regulations and the smoking stops immediately.

All members of the police force have been entrusted with the implementation of the regulations, with no particular section or unit assigned to check places where smoking is prohibited.

The regulations aim to safeguard non-smokers from the harmful effects of second-hand tobacco smoke. Some people, mainly non-smokers, see the regulations as positive, while others think they are an inconvenience.

However, not all smokers are completely against the regulations. Christopher Schembri, of Cospicua, is a smoker who agrees with the introduction of smoking regulations in restaurants but believes that bars, pubs and discotheques should be exempt.

Fgura resident Rita Valone does not like the fact that she cannot smoke in entertainment establishments but agrees with the regulation in principle as people tended to smoke less and it also made it less likely that youngsters would start smoking.

Antonia Vassallo, of Xghajra, said youngsters were less likely to suffer from tobacco-related illnesses. A non-smoker, Ms Vassallo is totally in favour of the smoking regulations and since they came into force was going out more.

For Mary Caruana, the regulations are curbing her smoking habit.

Lawrence Genius, of Qrendi, is a smoker and although the smoking regulations have affected him he agrees that there should be control. However, he expressed the belief that owners should have been left free to choose whether their establishment would be smoking or non-smoking.

Lawrence Galea, of Tarxien, expressed the hope that the regulations would be enforced throughout Malta, and Joe Cilia, of Swieqi, said he was pleased to see people going out to smoke in the balcony of the dancing hall he frequents. He also expressed his hope that the regulations would be enforced.

For Fgura residents Mario and Lisa Massa the regulations are a positive development and they are more likely to go out since smoking has been prohibited in public places. The couple believe that passive smoking poses a health hazard.

Many international studies show that second-hand smoke can pose health hazards. Health Promotion Department director Mario Spiteri said there were hundreds of reports indicating a link between second-hand smoke and a number of health problems, including epidemiological studies. One of the most interesting finding was that women in Japan and Greece - where until a few years ago smoking among females carried a major stigma - were also suffering from tobacco-related illnesses, indicating the link between passive smoking and disease.

Dr Spiteri said recent studies in the UK found that the actual risk of passive smoking had been underestimated mainly because scientists carrying out epidemiological studies were being over-cautious.

The debate on the smoking regulations has sparked an increase in awareness among smokers who want to quit, with Dr Spiteri saying the department has been inundated by requests from smokers who want to attend the smoking cessation clinic. "It does not mean they will all manage to quit but a lot of people are trying," he said.