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Smoking (Public Health) (Designation of No Smoking Areas) (Amendment) Notice 2010 Published in the Gazette on 9 July 2010

The Smoking (Public Health) (Designation of No Smoking Areas) (Amendment) Notice 2010 was published in the Gazette on 9 July 2010. The Amendment Notice designates 131 public transport interchanges or bus termini (“PTIs” for short), including 129 in open-air and 2 covered by superstructures, as no smoking areas with effect from 1 December 2010. The actual delineation of the boundaries of the NSAs in the 131 PTIs shall be shown on respective plans signed by the Director of Health, which were also published in the Gazette on the same date. Members of the public may inspect the original or copy of the plans at the Land Registry or the Tobacco Control Office of the Department of Health, respectively. The Amendment Notice will be submitted to the Legislative Council for negative vetting on 14 July 2010.

Section 3 (1AB) of Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap.371) empowers the Director of Health to, by notice published in Gazette, designate as a no-smoking area (NSA) the whole or a part of – (a) any area that consists of the termini of 2 or more modes of public transport and is used for effecting and facilitating interchange between them; or (b) any bus terminus of more than one specified route as defined in section 2 of the Public Bus Services Ordinance (Cap. 230).

Smoking ban in PTIs is taken forward in phases. Smoking is banned in 54 indoor PTIs since 1 January 2007. In 2009, 48 PTIs with superstructures were designated as no smoking areas with effect from 1 September 2009.