Smoking ban up in the air

Smoking ban up in the air
OR
Smoking ban implementation up in smoke

Bambang Nurbianto
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Not yet ready to fully enforce the smoking ban in public places
in February, the city administration has decided to postpone its
implementation until June next year.

The decision was made after a brief survey showed that the
dissemination of information on the new bylaw on air pollution
control since its endorsement last February had yet to reach the
wider public, an official said on Friday.

The assistant to the city secretary for people's welfare,
Rohana Mandala, said the administration would deploy an
antismoking task force to remind the public about the smoking
prohibition.

"Between February and May, we will use the persuasive approach
and not punish violators," Rohana told The Jakarta Post.

The postponement will not extend to civil servants and City
Hall employees, who will receive administrative sanctions for
smoking in prohibited areas in their offices from February.

The smoking prohibition is stipulated in Bylaw No. 2/2005 on
air pollution control and carries a maximum punishment of six
months in prison and a Rp 50 million (US$5,000) fine.

The bylaw bans smoking in public places, which include offices
-- both government and private -- bus terminals, train stations,
malls, airports, shopping centers, hotels and restaurants.

Public transportation mentioned in the bylaw, meanwhile,
includes trains, taxis, buses, busway vehicles, public minivans
and kancil.

Governor Sutiyoso issued Gubernatorial Regulation No. 75/2005,
which serves as guidance for relevant parties to support the
smoking ban, such as on establishing smoking rooms in all air-
conditioned buildings in the city.

Rohana said the administration was producing advertisements on
the smoking ban to be aired intensively during the February-June
period.

The administration earlier sent letters to 89 building
managements along Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin, reminding them
about their obligation to set up smoking areas in their
buildings.

Sixty-nine of them expressed readiness to establish smoking
areas.

The new bylaw also emphasizes the importance of curbing
vehicular emissions, which contribute to over 70 percent of
Jakarta's air pollution.

The ruling includes requirements for all public vehicles to
use natural gas, as well as compulsory emission tests for all
vehicles.

But it seems that many of the requirements will not be able to
be implemented in February because of the city's poor preparation
for the enforcement of the bylaw.

One glaring example of this is the city's failure to build
more natural gas stations in the city to service public buses,
which by law have to convert from fossil fuel to natural gas.