China considers a major ban on tobacco advertising, public smoking

World Today

Warning signs of NO SMOKING are seen on the train.. A new smoking ban from China’s health ministry in all public indoor spaces, including public transport, restaurants, Internet cafes and bars.

China is mulling a ban on all forms of tobacco advertising, sponsorship, and promotion of tobacco products, according to a draft regulation on Monday.

The draft, published on the legislative affairs office of the State Council website, also includes plans to ban certain smoking scenes in films and TV shows The regulation is pending public consultation.

The regulation would ban smoking in all kinds of indoor public places and outdoor spaces, including in kindergartens, schools, colleges, women and children’s hospitals as well as in fitness venues. Smoking outdoors would only be allowed in designated smoking areas.

The draft also prohibits selling cigarettes to minors through vending machines.

Civil servants, teachers, and medical staff should take the lead in tobacco control, the draft legislation said, adding teachers and medical workers are not allowed to smoke in front of students or patients.

As the world’s largest tobacco maker and consumer, China has more than 300 million smokers and another 740 million people exposed to second-hand smoke each year.

In 2003, China signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It requires signatories to “comprehensively ban all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship”, but still does not have a specific law regulating smoking in public places.

While the consumption of high-end cigarettes has been largely reduced thanks to China’s anti-corruption drive, the mid-to low-end market has managed to attract even more consumers.

Most people in China don’t seem to take smoking in public places seriously. Bernhard Schwartlander, WHO’s representative in China, wrote in an online article that smoking in enclosed public spaces is openly tolerated in hotels, restaurants, and offices across Beijing — despite the city’s smoke-free rule for public places.

Experts have long attributed the worsening situation to the lack of national legislation and local governments’ heavy reliance on tobacco taxes.

Xu Guihua of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control said the rules were long overdue, but that it was still very important that restaurant owners and hotel managers to have a sense of “tobacco control” and dissuade smokers when they see them.

“After all, law enforcement teams can not cover all public places,” Xu said.

Story complied with information from Xinhua News.