DESPITE the recent introduction of stricter non-smoking regulations, it seems many smokers are still lighting up in public. Xu Wenwen examines some of the possible reasons why so many people are ignoring the ban.

In a Hangzhou supermarket, a man standing right in front of a "No Smoking" sign lights up a cigarette. When a staff member asks him to put it out, she is sworn at.

Though Hangzhou's smoking ban has been in effect for more than 10 months, some keep ignoring the "No Smoking" signs as if they were there merely as decoration.

There is obviously a long way to go to reach the standard of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which China signed up to five years ago.

The accord bans smoking in all workplaces, public venues and public transport and also incorporates smoking-control measures such as health warnings on cigarette packaging, restrictions on tobacco advertising and protective measures against the effects of passive smoking.

Its provisions should have come into effect on January 9, by which time China had promised to ban smoking in all indoor public places.

Similar awkwardness has happened nationwide.

In Beijing, smoking controls were no longer observed when the 2008 Olympic Games ended; while Wuhan in Hubei Province has not issued any penalty fines despite introducing a public smoking ban five years ago; and Jinan in Shandong Province will have its smoking-ban rules revised since the current regulations are proving ineffective, according to local media.

Dilemma

So where do Hangzhou people smoke most in public? According to Shanghai Daily's survey, few smoke in hospitals, banks, train stations and shopping malls, while at privately owned entertainment venues such as bars, restaurants, KTVs and Internet cafes, smokers can be frequently seen.

In a hotpot restaurant on Moganshan Road, Dai Zheng chooses a seat in the non-smoking area, but soon two men at the next table start to smoke.

"Did you tell them this is a non-smoking area?" Dai asks the waitress.

"I did it at the first," she answers, "but it is none of my business if they persist."

Dai has to persuade the two guys by himself. Right away, they extinguish their cigarettes.

"It was a lucky try," recalls Dai. "Last time in another restaurant, I had a big quarrel with some smokers."

At an Internet bar on Hushu Road, a young man playing an online game is smoking, and swears when he loses the game. Xiao Ma, a woman sitting not far from him cannot stand any more and leaves the bar after 10 minutes.

"I know that the government encourages people to stop others smoking in public places, but what if I got sworn at? That guy seemed violent," she worries.

According to Hangzhou Public Place Smoking Control Bylaw, people are entitled to stop others smoking or lighting cigarettes in public places and offenders will be liable to a fine of 50 yuan (US$7.57).

However, to many Chinese, who are traditionally introverted, it can be very tough to persuade strangers, and the same dilemma occurs in offices as well.

On Hangzhou's leading Internet forum 19lou.com, a netizen named "cjwmoney" posted a thread recalling his tragic experience of second-hand smoking in the office.

"I used to have a strong body as I never smoke or drink alcohol, but things greatly changed in only one year. Though smoking in the office is forbidden and my former working unit did designate a smoking area, none of my smoker colleagues cared. My office mates kept smoking in the closed office. My liver function became abnormal. Working in the same office for three months after treatment, my liver function still didn't improve, but when I went to work for a new company, my liver recovered in one month."

His plight was echoed by hundreds of people in the forum.

"The night of firebug" says: "My boss smokes all the time despite having a pregnant office mate!"

"S2014" writes: "I witnessed how the plants died in my office, and I am afraid I will be smoked to death ..."

"Kid1737" comments: "My office is constantly smoky because all of my office mates require three packs of cigarettes in one day! In three years, I've got faucitis, esophagitis and dyspnea, but they never smoke outdoors!"

Embarrassment

Cyber celebrity "Sister Furong" recently wrote on her Weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter): "The reason why the smoking ban does not work is because most of the leaders are smokers. Do you think it possible to have commoners banning bosses from smoking? Dare you ban your boss from smoking when he smokes right in front of your face?"

Netizens agree. As Chinese society emphasizes much on human relationship, employees are embarrassed to say "no" to bosses.

Apart from this reason, the failure of the smoking ban can be largely attributed to the country's ages-old tradition of giving cigarettes as gifts.

Zhang Jinghui, an insider in cigarette manufacturing, recently posted an article "Top grade cigarettes, where to go?" on Tobaccochina.com, explaining that "valuable cigarettes function as gifts because they are expensive, which means respect. The more expensive the cigarettes are, the more respectful the giver is."

According to his article, in the first quarter of 2010, the sales volume of national top cigarette brands was 675 boxes (one box is comprised of 2,500 packs), 30 percent higher than the same period in 2009.

Last March (usually a slack month), the sales volume of those brands soared 46 percent on a year-on-year basis, much higher than the entire cigarettes market's increase of 3 percent.

The share of expensive cigarettes in daily consumption has obviously risen, proving that expensive cigarettes have become an ordinary choice of gifts, according to the article.

Besides, China's tobacco industry is foiling efforts to control smoking, according to a report issued at the beginning of the month by a group of Chinese and foreign health experts and economists.

The tobacco industry has resisted raising cigarette prices and using pictorial health warnings and had even infiltrated bodies set up to control smoking, reducing their effectiveness, the report said.

Nevertheless, the municipal government is trying to make amends.

Last week, a foreign-funded tobacco-control project was launched in 10 Chinese cities, and Hangzhou is involved. It is the second phase of the Tobacco-Free Cities Project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in China. The first was launched in seven cities in mid-2009.

Cao Chengjian, deputy director of Hangzhou's Disease Control and Prevention Center, says 30 local restaurants and hotels will be primary target in the two-year program.