The act, which had been stalled for over four years, dictates that commercial establishments which serve food or drinks can only have outdoor smoking areas, with appropriate signs to advise customers. It also demands that all government offices must be 100 percent smoke-free, with outdoor smoking areas only. A similar federal law passed in 2008 is also in effect but is poorly enforced.
Once signed by Governor Emilio Gonzalez, the law will take effect in three months, although businesses will have an additional period of 30 days to set up outdoor smoking areas and put up signs – if they haven’t already done this to conform to the federal law.Under the new law, anyone caught smoking in prohibited areas will face a fine of 606 to 6,057 pesos, equivalent to 10 to 100 days of the minimum wage. Owners of businesses or public transport who illegally permit smoking can be fined from 6,057 to 60,570 pesos and the sanction could be doubled for repeat offenders.