Strict smoking ban at schools
Print Edition
China has issued a tough smoking ban covering all the nation’s schools.
A Ministry of Education circular states: “Nobody is ever allowed to smoke anywhere within primary and middle schools, kindergartens and secondary vocational schools.”
The schools must have smoking-ban signs in conspicuous places and should not have smoking areas. They must not seek sponsorship from cigarette brands or allow cigarette advertisements on campus.
Stores in schools are prohibited from selling tobacco, and school principals will be held responsible for the ban’s implementation.
The circular also bans smoking in any building in higher-learning institutes but allows the setting up of a few open-air smoking areas.
It also says schools should appoint smoking supervisors and establish an assessment system under which both teaching staff and students will be evaluated on their implementation of the smoking ban.
Schools failing to implement the ban will be punished.
The move comes a month after China banned officials from smoking in public areas, including schools, hospitals, sports venues and on public transport.
The central leadership told officials to “take the lead” in tobacco control, though people are accustomed to images of their officials with a cigarette — usually an expensive one.
China is the world’s largest cigarette producer and consumer. Its number of smokers exceeds 300 million, with at least 740 million nonsmokers regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.
In 2003, China signed the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. But it has been criticized for failing to fulfil its promise to reduce tobacco use. The tobacco industry generated 956 billion yuan (US$157 billion) in taxes and profits in China in 2013, up 10.5 percent compared to the previous year.
China made a public smoking ban one of its goals for the 2011-2015 period. Some cities, including Shanghai, have enacted legislation on smoking in public places.
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