Pubs in Sydney are looking for loopholes that will allow gaming rooms to be transformed into smoking lounges. It was reported that the Bellevue and Woollahra hotels have already applied for a permit by the Woollahra Municipal Council to turn their gaming rooms into unenclosed venues that will allow their customers to smoke.
Thanks to a loophole in the law, the Woollahra Hotel is planning to renovate the roof over its gaming room by creating voids. This way, the gaming space will technically not be considered enclosed and patrons will be allowed to smoke, without breaking the anti-smoking laws of Sydney.
Bellevue Hotel applied for a similar alteration of its gaming area to transform it into unenclosed space where players could smoke. The local planning panel, however, rejected the hotel’s proposal as the smoke coming out of that area may have a bad effect on the health of nearby neighbours.
Loopholes in Anti-Smoking Laws May Allow Gaming Rooms to Turn Into Smoking Areas
A spokesman of Woollahra Hotel noted that the renovation proposal was in no way breaking the current anti-smoking law. He added that the changes in the current gaming area of the hotel were not intended for encouraging smoking but rather to provide a space where customers could smoke. The spokesman also shared that having smoking customers standing in the footpath outside the gaming room can lead to higher health risks for passers-by and people in the neighbourhood.
The Tobacco Control Manager of the Cancer Council NSW, Alecia Brooks, stated that the government should introduce some amendment to the law that will close the current loophole that gaming rooms are trying to take advantage of. According to the anti-smoking law, smoking in a public space is permitted, with the proviso that the venue is considered unenclosed or offers at least 25% of open space. By installing air vents, louvres, and shutters, enclosed spaces can easily be turned into areas that allow smoking.
Brooks stated that despite providing enough unenclosed space, the smoke in such facilities cannot be dispersed the same way as it would in a truly open area. This may lead to higher secondhand smoke risks for the visitors of these spaces and the people in the nearby areas.
While the NSW Health cannot decide whether a certain area fully complies with the current anti-smoking laws, inspectors from the NSW Health can issue warnings, impose fines, or even require the prosecution of businesses that breach the smoke-free laws.
Brooks stated that the Cancer Council NSW and the NSW government have already considered some measures that will close the loophole in the anti-smoking law. This will protect the health of visitors to such facilities, as well as the employees of pubs, gaming rooms, clubs, and bars that are trying to transform into purpose-built smoking areas.
- Author
Olivia Cole
