HONG KONG, Jan 10 (AFP) - Hong Kong lawmakers were Monday drafting a law to ban smoking in public places, joining New York and countries such as Ireland and Norway in leading the charge against tobacco.
The proposed amendment, which came before the Legislative Council (LegCo) health services panel for discussion Monday morning, aims to ban smoking in all restaurants, bars, karaokes, indoor working places, schools, universities and nursing homes.
At the meeting, most legislators expressed their support of the law and said other places such as saunas and massage or mahjong parlours should not be exempt from the ban.
Under the proposal, there will be a grace period of three months to a year for various establishments once the bill becomes law.
In October, the territory's legislature voted overwhelmingly in favour of the ban. Legislation should be in place by this summer.
The smoking ban is supported by the majority of Hong Kong citizens, according to surveys.
A study released by the Democratic Party Sunday showed 72.4 percent of 725 respondents believed the smoking ban in restaurants should become law and implemented immediately.
Nearly 80 percent wanted an immediate ban on smoking in work places.
Italy became the latest place to impose stricter restrictions on smokers, with a ban on smoking in all public places going into effect Monday.
01/10/2005 07:46 GMT - AFP