00:00 Imagine a lip-smacking plate of mee goreng mama.
00:03 Your senses primed for the culinary delight, only for your experience to be disrupted by
00:07 the unbearable and unmistakable smell of cigarette smoke.
00:11 Smoking in restaurants was supposed to be a thing of the past after a government ban
00:15 took effect on January 1st, 2019.
00:18 But four years on, smokers lighting up in eateries is still very much a common sight.
00:23 Azrul Khalib, CEO of the Galen Center for Health and Social Policy, chalks it up to
00:27 the attitudes of owners and patrons.
00:30 Social behaviors and attitudes must change if smoking in restaurants are to be reduced
00:35 or eliminated altogether.
00:37 No amount of new policies will make a difference if smokers continue to not care of the effect
00:43 their smoking has on others, on non-smokers, and businesses remain silent to those who
00:49 ignore the ban.
00:50 In 2018, the government amended the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004 to ban
00:56 smoking in eateries.
00:58 Under the law, anyone caught smoking at an eatery is liable to be fined.
01:03 At the same time, proprietors and operators may be penalized if they provide facilities
01:07 for smoking or fail to display "No Smoking" signs at their outlets.
01:12 During the first six months of enforcement, the Health Ministry focused on advocacy.
01:17 After which, it ramped up spot checks handing out fines to those violating the ban.
01:22 But this has not stopped patrons from lighting up cigarettes at eateries.
01:26 Beyond enforcement agencies, Azrul says, there is a need for operators to be accountable,
01:30 which is sorely lacking.
01:32 This is mostly due to operators not wanting to offend patrons and in the process lose
01:36 their business.
01:37 "Smokers may get aggressive or resort to insults and threats of violence if prevented
01:42 from smoking in these eateries.
01:45 Fellow diners play an important role in helping the eateries to enforce smoking bans.
01:50 But to be honest, all people want to do is eat their kway teow goreng and mind their
01:54 own business."
01:55 Azrin Salih is one of the few restaurant owners taking a tough stance against stubborn smokers.
02:00 "If we see someone, we will scold them.
02:03 If they are okay, they will stand up and go to a more comfortable place.
02:11 Usually, we meet customers who are a bit older.
02:17 So when we, as young people, scold them, they cannot accept it.
02:25 But we also say that this is for the good of all customers."
02:28 Danish Rajareza, FMT News.
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