‘It will take time to change smoking culture,’ official says amid site checks

Changing the smoking culture on the city’s construction sites will “take time”, Hong Kong’s labour commissioner has said as authorities completed 1,200 site inspections and issued 36 fixed-penalty notices in the first two weeks of a smoking ban at such locations.

Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui Chark-shum said on Saturday that Labour Department officials also issued nine improvement notices to contractors and would consider whether to prosecute two cases.

“This shows that there are still workers smoking. The situation is not ideal and it will take time to change the smoking culture at construction sites,” he told a radio programme.

“At present, most fixed-penalty cases have been uncovered through surprise inspections, with some arising from referrals and reports from the public.”

The ban was introduced in the wake of the devastating fire at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court last November, which killed 168 people and was suspected to have been caused by workers smoking while carrying out renovation work.

Under the legal amendments, anyone caught smoking at a construction site faces a fixed penalty of HK$3,000 (US$380) for individual breaches, while contractors face a fine of up to HK$400,000 if they fail to ensure their sites are smoke-free.