PETALING JAYA: While their numbers might not be significant yet, there has been a slow rise of irresponsible people who have been emboldened to smoke well within the 3m smoking ban rule at eateries.
This has caused discomfort among patrons who want a smoke-free outing with their families following the rule that banned smoking from public areas, including food premises, in 2019.
Among them is Dina Abd Samad, 41, who recently wanted to spend her time with family dining outdoors at a restaurant when they began to smell something smoky.
“It was a nice night out for dinner, but we were inhaling smoke from a table next to us where a group of men had lit up.
“It is annoying, to be honest, because isn’t it against the law to smoke at restaurants?
“I had my elderly mother and young children with me, so we wanted to have a smoke-free time at the restaurant.
“We did inform the staff, but they were not able to do anything. The smell is hard to get rid of, apart from being harmful as secondhand smoke,” the human resources manager from Setia Alam said.
Checks by The Star at restaurants and eateries with al fresco sections around Klang Valley found a number of people, young and old, violating the ban against smoking at eateries.
Some of the patrons who were smoking cigarettes seemed unbothered about puffing, while vapers were seen sneaking in a drag or two.
Self-employed Rahim Mohamed, 38, said it is especially a problem if smokers do it when the restaurants are full.
“I am a smoker myself, but I have seen people dismissing others with young children or babies and just simply smoking or vaping. Why is it so hard to smoke outside of the 3m radius?
“I tend to see young people being more aware of this, but not the older generation.
“Once there was a smoker in his 50s who just puffed away while my one-year-old niece was sitting at a table beside him. We did tell him not to smoke, but he ignored us, and this happened in Bangsar,” he said.
One worker from an eatery in Shah Alam who only wanted to be known as Siti said smokers tend to comply with the first warning but would then continue to smoke.
“If we tell them not to smoke, they will either just pretend not to smoke and then continue to do so after we leave the table.
“Unfortunately, those who do this are actually regulars, so we cannot afford to chase after them all the time. What we hope is for them not to smoke near families,” she said.
Recently, Tumpat MP Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi told the Dewan Rakyat that the smoking ban has weaknesses, with the public not complying and the authorities not rounding up those who flout the law.
The PAS lawmaker suggested having smoking and non- smoking restaurants, but this received flak from the public, who said the responsibility lies with the smokers, restaurant owners and authorities to address the issue.
