A ban on smoking in all public places was implemented in China on May 1, according to the Ministry of Health, as fines or responsibilities for the observance have not been set.

In a document released several days ago, the ministry included thorough anti-smoking rules: no-smoking signs should be placed, outdoor smoking venues should not interfere with pedestrian traffic, and no vending machines will sell tobacco products. Also the given document proposed that public venue operators should educate customers about the health dangers of smoking and passive smoking and try to stop those who light up.

According to statistics China has more than 300 million smokers; estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) demonstrate that approximately 1.2 million Chinese people die from tobacco related illnesses annually, thus constituting 1/ 5 of the world total. “The new rules, a review to the 1991 version, are a significant improvement for China’s anti-smoking program and again demonstrate the ministry’s powerful obligation to public health,” stated Wu Yiqun, deputy director of the Research Center.

Recently, the ministry had urged all hospitals to prohibit smoking in indoor places. Besides hospitals, the current rules cover such places as bars, restaurants and public transport, according to Jiang Yuan, deputy director of the National Office of Tobacco Control. “However, this rule was not applied to workplaces,” she stated. Particular penalties for violation are not indicated and the obligation for adopting the rules is not distinctly defined, she added.

While encouraging the new rules, Wu declared that she was also worried about enforcement. “For example, it is rather difficult for a restaurant patron to prevent a customer from smoking,” she said. Liu Xiaodong, who works at a Sichuan restaurant, welcomed the rules and stated: “The rules need business operators in order to conduct regular controls on their staff who operate in a smoking environment. This is very important for people like me.”

“The majority of customers get used to smoke while eating. Thus they may relax, but many other people suffer from being exposed to secondhand smoke. The chain smokers harm not only their health but also the staff and other people working or resting in the restaurant,” he said. “We hope that customers won’t smoke in public venues. But I am not sure how it will affect business,” he added. “It is pleasant to see that many important details have been put into the new rule. It assures business operators with more responsibilities,” said representative of the publishing house in Shanghai. “Not once I saw some restaurant workers blinking at what their customers are doing. They do not act when someone smokes in the non-smoking space. I understand that they do not want to lose their job, but it really affects others,” she said.

By Steve Shepherd, Staff Writer. Copyright © 2011 Cigarette-Store.org. All rights reserved.