Beijing to outlaw smoking next June
Print Edition
BEIJING yesterday adopted a new law making it illegal to smoke in indoor public places, workplaces and on public transport.
The legislation was approved by the Standing Committee of the Beijing People’s Congress, and came as a nationwide ban remains under discussion.
Under the new law, which is set to take effect on June 1 next year, smoking will be prohibited also in open-air spaces at kindergartens, primary and middle schools, child welfare institutions, women’s and children’s hospitals, fitness and sports venues, and cultural relic sites open to the public.
Legal representatives and people in charge of government agencies, public institutions and social organizations will be given the authority to implement the smoking ban in their workplaces.
Anyone found smoking in a designated smoke-free area will be fined up to 200 yuan (US$32.50).
Advertisements for tobacco products will also be prohibited in all outdoor and public indoor areas, on public transport, and across all media, including TV, radio, films, newspapers, books and the Internet. All forms of tobacco promotion and title sponsorship will also be banned.
In schools, teachers will be forbidden from smoking in front of students, while school administrators will be required to educate pupils about the dangers of smoking and help young smokers to quit.
The law also prohibits the sale of cigarettes to minors via vending machines and online.
Incomplete ban
Though wide-reaching in its scope, the adopted legislation does not go so far as to ban smoking in all public places. Parks and scenic spots are exempted, as too are outdoor spaces at higher education institutions.
Xu Guihua of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control said earlier that the rules were long overdue and that it was “very important for restaurant owners and hotel managers to dissuade smokers” whenever they see them.
“Law enforcement teams can’t cover every public place,” he said.
As the world’s largest tobacco maker and consumer, China has more than 300 million smokers. In 2003, it signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which requires signatories to “comprehensively ban all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.”
Beijing’s move reaffirmed the growing tide of anti-smoking sentiment in the country.
The first state-level anti-smoking legislation was released for public comment on Monday, while a dozen cities, including Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou, have launched local legislation on tobacco control.
Aside from a ban on smoking, experts have suggested the government raises taxes and retail prices of tobacco products.
Yang Gonghuan, deputy head of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, said taxes should represent 67 to 80 percent of the price of cigarettes, from 43 percent now.
Shen Jingjing, director of the disease control and prevention center in Yancheng, east China’s Jiangsu Province, said increasing prices would be particularly effective in deterring young smokers.
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