Businesses brace for smoking ban

Businesses brace for smoking ban

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Hotels, malls and restaurants in Jakarta said on Sunday they were
ready to comply with a bylaw banning smoking in all enclosed
public places.

The City Council endorsed last Friday a bylaw on air pollution
that bans smoking in public places and requires managements of
public places to designate specific areas for smokers.

Hotels and restaurants interviewed by The Jakarta Post said
on Sunday they had long separated smoking and non-smoking areas,
while mall operators said they already prohibited smoking inside
malls.

Putu Ayu Aristya Dewi, marketing manager for the Accor Group,
which owns several four and five-star hotels in the capital, said
the bylaw would bolster the group's policy of designating smoking
and non-smoking areas in all of its hotels.

"We already distinguish between smoking areas and non-smoking
areas. For example, we have a certain number of non-smoking
floors or rooms. So we can follow the new regulation with a
slight adjustment," she told the Post.

She said enforcing the regulation would not be difficult
because most of the guests at the group's hotels were educated
people and would understand the bylaw.

Yudith Nurwulan, public relations director for an
international hotel chain, said her office would study the bylaw
before deciding what policy changes it would make.

Fransiska Kansil, the public relations manager for a five-star
hotel in the capital, said special smoking areas were already
provided for guests at the hotel.

The newly endorsed bylaw criminalizes smoking inside public
places, including schools, office buildings, buses, trains,
airplanes, malls, restaurants and hotels. Violations can be
punished with up to six months in jail and/or a fine of Rp 50
million (US$5,555).

The bylaw will not be enforced for a year to allow the
authorities to educate the public about the ruling.

Riezka Novia Bewinda, media relations officer for Plaza
Semanggi in Central Jakarta, said on Sunday the shopping center
had been designated a smoke-free area.

"The management will discuss what impact, if any, the bylaw
will have on Plaza Semanggi," she told the Post.

Handaka Santosa of Sogo said significant changes would have to
be made at cafes and restaurants inside malls, because most of
these establishments allowed guests to smoke.

"We must make some adjustments for restaurants and cafes. We
are now studying what steps we will make in compliance with the
bylaw," he said.

Danny Leo Lukito, owner of the Suite Seven cafe located in
Kemang, South Jakarta, said he was unsure what the impact of the
bylaw would be on his business.

"To be honest we still haven't prepared. If it is a private
party, I don't think we can ban smoking. Right now we try to have
separate places for smokers and non-smokers, but sometimes they
get mixed together," he said.

He said he was not aware of any non-smokers complaining about
the current setup at the cafe.