Smoking them into a corner

Dubai: Dubai shopping malls will be responsible for regulating and enforcing anti-smoking regulations within their premises, under terms of an agreement signed between Dubai Municipality and a group representing shopping malls.

Dubai Shopping Malls Group (DSMG) and Dubai Municipality signed an MoU yesterday on World No Tobacco Day, which requires both parties to work together to come up with a set of anti-smoking requirements by September 15.

Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, said that under the terms of the understanding, the onus of enforcement would not be on the municipality but on the mall management.

No fines

"There will be no fines. Malls will be self-regulating," he said, adding that mall employees would have to tell smoking patrons to stub out and direct them to designated smoking areas.

Malls will have to set up separate sections for smokers and provide proper ventilation for them. "There is no ban on smoking in malls. But they will have to set up one area or room that smokers can go to and kill themselves [by smoking]," Lootah said.

"We cannot have a blanket ban because this deals with personal behaviour. To make this initiative successful, we have to do it this way," he added.

He added that although requirements and standards for malls would be out on September 15, no deadline has been set on compliance. Eisa Adam, president of the Dubai Shopping Malls Group said the they would set up a committee to chalk out strategy to regulate smoking in shopping malls.

According to the Dubai Municipality's plan, the smoking ban in Dubai will have three categories.

All persons below the age of 21 will be barred from smoking zones. There will be a blanket ban on smoking in places such as schools, educational establishments, hair-cutting saloons, health clubs, internet cafes, food courts and offices.

There will be designated smoking lounges or corners that meet health prerequisites such as ventilation, smoke-absorbers in cafes, restaurants and shopping malls.

- With inputs from Ashfaq Ahmed

I find smoking in restaurants and cafes very offensive. Your dining experience is disrupted with the smell of cigarette smoke. A firm ban on smoking in restaurants and/or any eating establishments should be implemented without delay.
Ineke
Dubai,UAE

There is no way this legislation will be successful until fines are imposed on either the shopping malls or the smokers.
Jaideep
Dubai,UAE

Having designated smoking areas in shopping malls is a great idea. What particularly struck me as a positive sign was the inclusion of food courts in the list of places where smoking is banned, since a lot of children eat at these food courts.
Khalid
Dubai,UAE

The best thing to do is to ban cigarettes. Make it a law so that smokers will shut up because there are no cigarettes around. This will also help save the health of non smokers.
Carlota
Sharjah,UAE

Unfortunately, a self-regulating ban on smoking in malls will not work, particularly now that it has been made clear that fines for non-compliance will not be imposed.
Jonathan
Dubai,UAE

It would be a great idea if literature or pamphlets on the bad effects of smoking can be made available in the designated lounges for smoking. If a deadline is not set then its unlikely many of the malls will create these lounges.
Naushard
Muscat,Oman

How can we help smokers to quit smoking if we will give a designated area for smoking? There should be a blanket ban on smoking in all public places and there should be no exception to the rule.
Vangie
Manila,Philippines

I think that having designated smoking lounges in shopping malls is a great idea. I would appreciate it if they could have hang on the walls of these lounges some pictures of the bad effects of smoking.
Raja
Dubai,UAE

Why can't they simply impose fines on violators? The whole thing looks like a joke to me.
Mike
London,UK