The Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday passed a government-initiated bill that will ban the sale of alcoholic drinks to minors, i.e., those under the age of 18.

The bill will become law 180 days after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO) soon. 

Currently, while there is a legal ban on the sale of cigarettes to those under the age of 18 in Macau, there is no legal ban on selling them alcoholic beverages.

The bill’s outline was passed during a plenary session of the legislature in October last year. The legislature’s 1^st Standing Committee held several meetings to review the bill.

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U attended yesterday’s plenary session when the bill was voted on article-by-article in its second and final reading.

Alcoholic drinks to be regulated by the new law, officially known as Law on the Prevention and Control on Minors’ Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages, are defined as those with an alcohol by volume (ABV) of over 1.2 percent, meaning that minors will still be allowed to buy drinks with an ABV of up to 1.2 percent.

According to the new law, alcoholic beverages will be prohibited from being sold to minors at public venues. In addition, public venues will be barred from providing alcoholic drinks to minors, either for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

The new law defines public venues as all those that are open to members of the public regardless of the ownership of the respective property.

In addition to restaurants, the government has indicated that the public venues, to be covered by the ban on the sale of alcoholic drinks to minors, will include streets, parks, and libraries.

According to the new law, those below 18 will be barred from selling alcoholic drinks at public venues.

More specifically, the new law will bar anyone from hiring minors to sell alcoholic beverages or from telling them to provide such drinks at public venues. In addition, the law will also bar minors from “engaging in self-employment activities” that sell alcoholic drinks at public venues.

In addition, the new law will ban the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors through any “remote” means, such as online shopping and courier services.

According to the new law, a notice prohibiting the sale or provision of alcoholic drinks to minors must be displayed in clearly visible locations at any venues selling or providing such beverages.

According to the new law, those selling alcoholic beverages to minors at public venues will be fined 20,000 patacas. The 20,000-pataca fine will also cover those providing alcoholic drinks to minors at public venues for commercial purposes.

However, according to the new law, those providing alcoholic beverages to minors at public venues for non-commercial purposes will face a less heavy fine, ranging between 1,500 patacas and 20,000 patacas.

The 20,000-pataca fine will also cover those hiring minors to sell alcoholic beverages or telling them to provide such drinks at public venues. The 20,000-pataca fine will also cover minors who engage in self-employment activities that sell alcoholic drinks at public venues.

1.2-percent ABV suitable for Macau: Ao Ieong

During yesterday’s plenary session, Ao Ieong underlined that the government has decided that only alcoholic drinks with an ABV of over 1.2 percent should be covered by the new law after considering Macau’s situation.

The policy secretary said the government’s aim was to strike the right balance between the protection of minors against alcoholic drinks and the fact that Macau is a tourism city. Pointing out that Macau’s eating and drinking habits are similar to Hong Kong, Ao Ieong said that the 1.2-percent ABV aims to avoid causing inconveniences to businesses in Macau that import alcoholic drinks from Hong Kong, which has also adopted the 1.2-percent ABV in its legislation.

Ao Ieong also noted that the new law will be enforced by the Health Bureau’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Office, which will then be renamed Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention and Control Office.

The policy secretary also said that the government will study the feasibility of upgrading the renamed Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention and Control Office to a department-level entity under the Health Bureau (SSM), a change from the current situation in which the Tobacco Prevention and Control Office is a division-level entity.

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U addresses yesterday’s plenary session in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle. – Photo courtesy of TDM