Smokers who light up in non-smoking areas will face a fixed penalty of HK$1,500, according to a bill passed in the Legislative Council yesterday.
But Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow Yat-ngok said there is no timetable to enforce the fixed penalty as publicity remains to be done and the Health Department needs 10 months to set up an information system.

"The HK$1,500 fixed penalty can cut out a lot of court procedures," Chow said.

Currently, violators face a maximum fine of HK$5,000. But the highest penalty meted out so far is only HK$1,500 and the lowest HK$50.

In addition to the Office of Tobacco Control, Chow said police and officers of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and Housing Department will be authorized to hand out the tickets.

Violators have to pay the fine within 21 days.

The Office of Tobacco Control currently has 80 inspectors and will hire more. To retain staff, Chow added its inspectors will be given status as permanent government staff.

"We will eventually have over 3,000 law enforcement officers altogether," Chow said.

Meanwhile, Democratic Party legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo cited a survey the party did last month which showed 80 percent of 700 respondents agreed to allow those caught to choose between paying the fine and using the money to pay for treatment to quit smoking.

Cheng was disappointed when Legco president Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai rejected discussion on his suggestion as it was outside the scope of the bill.

Lawmaker Li Kwok-ying of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said Cheng's suggestion will make the law enforcement procedures more complicated.

Li added it will also lead to more conflicts between the officer and violators.

From the start of the year to last month, the Office of Tobacco Control gave away 9,851 tickets.