China Medical News

Beijing's smoking ban, which came into effect on June 1 last year and made it illegal to smoke indoors in public places, has curbed smoking in the capital and won widespread public support, according to a survey published on May 27 by the Chinese Association of Tobacco Control.
The Beijing ban, the strictest in the country's history, prohibits smoking indoors at public places and at outdoor venues, such as schools and children's hospitals.

The survey at 450 public places in the Chinese capital found that the situation has improved markedly since the ban came into force. The biggest improvements were seen in bars and restaurants, while hospitals were recognized as the best enforcers of the ban, the survey said. Smoking was reported in only 14% of the bars visited, compared with 90% before the ban came into effect. A researcher at the Chinese Association of Tobacco Control, said the benefits have been recognized by the public, including many smokers.

The results of the survey will provide vital information for lawmakers, as the country mulls extending the ban to implement China's first-ever nationwide anti-smoking legislation. The proposed law was drafted by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, which solicited opinions from several government departments, said a spokesman for the commission.

However, insiders said the draft offers too much leeway because it would allow smoking areas to be established in public places, such as restaurants, bars and coffee or tea shops. A deputy director of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, said: "That's like setting aside a peeing area in a swimming pool."

A spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission said smoking areas in public places cannot protect people from the effects of second-hand smoke, and also added that "they make enforcement of the anti-smoking regulations even harder and more complicated." Nationwide, many obstacles remain to the full implementation of smoking bans, the spokesman said, citing poor public awareness of the health risks posed by both active and passive smoking, and a lack of respect for rules.
Moreover, China's tobacco industry is a State monopoly and the government relies heavily on the revenues generated, which means vested interests may attempt to block or delay measures to control tobacco use, he added. (Source: National Health and Family Planning Commission)