Being banned from smoking in a massage parlour is like `sleeping on a bed without a mattress`, says an employee at the Purple Crystal Sauna in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

`Of course our business will be affected,` he said when asked what he thought of the city`s plan to outlaw smoking in mahjong, massage and sauna parlours.

Others in the industry were more optimistic.

A supervisor at King`s Sauna, North Point, said things would probably not be that bad in the long run.

`The main activity isn`t smoking,` he told The Straits Times.

`As long as the customers enjoy our services, they should come back as usual, I believe, with or without a cigarette. But yes, we might lose some revenue if customers spend less time here with smoking banned.`

The impending ban will cover all public indoor places after the government backtracked from exempting venues like massage and mahjong parlours because of the difficulty in enforcement.

The Bill will be moved next month.

To Hong Kong`s Health Secretary, Dr York Chow, this is for the good of employees in the industry.

`Mahjong and massage parlours have...more smokers and since there is greater inhalation of second-hand smoke, we decided they should not be exempted as these places have workers too,` he told reporters recently.

Smoking is now banned in the territory`s movie theatres, shopping malls, supermarkets and department stores.

Restaurants that can accommodate more than 200 people must also prohibit smoking in at least one-third of their seating area.

The new law is expected to widen the ban to include all restaurants, karaokes, schools and offices.

About 15 per cent of Hong Kong`s population, or some one million people, smoke.

The habit costs the city more than HK$5 billion (S$1 billion) every year, according to a report by Hong Kong University earlier this year. This figure comprises both health costs and work-related losses due to illness.

Still, there are objectors like the 1,000 or so employees at more than 400 establishments like mahjong and massage parlours who demonstrated their displeasure on Monday by collecting application forms at the government`s Retraining Unit.

Mr Jimmy Chow of the Hong Kong Licensed Massage Association said this was just a peaceful way to tell the government that there could be many looking for other types of jobs should the ban be passed.

Feedback showed that three out of 10 massage parlour operators could close their businesses following the ban, he said, resulting in a loss of more than 20,000 jobs from the industry`s 70,000 openings.

`Smoking is bad, but the government has not considered the livelihood of these employees, who know no other skill beside massage,` Mr Chow said.

A spokesman for the Health Department replied, however, that any business backlash would only be in the short term.

The decision, he said, must be taken in view of Hong Kong`s long-term health.

The ban enjoys popular support, though not many believe it is feasible in places traditionally associated with smoking.

Marketing manager Don Li said: `It`s a good try to make Hong Kong a smoke-free city, but I think the more effective way is to raise tobacco levies so more will drop the habit if they can`t afford it.`

The government has already refused raising such taxes for now as the rate is already `reasonably high`.

Dr Anthony Hedley, chairman of Hong Kong University`s community medicine department, in February sug- gested a tax rise of at least 5 per cent a year to help cost-sensitive young smokers quit.

The current levy on a pack of 20 cigarettes is HK$16, or half the retail price for most brands. A 5 per cent annual tax rise would raise the cost per pack to HK$36 in five years, of which HK$20 would be tax.