Following Beijing’s smoking ban, the State Planning Commission announced on Friday that the country will introduce national legislation to curb tobacco use this year.
Mao Qun’an, the spokesperson for China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission, said that the National Tobacco Control Bill has been included in the State Council’s legislation. “We hope that the law can be introduced in 2016.”
Beijing implemented its new law—touted as the strictest tobacco regulation in Chinese history—in June 2015. Smoking was banned in public places, workplaces, and public indoor spaces. In simple terms, “if there is a roof, then there should not be smoke.” Offenders are liable to fines.
Beijing’s comprehensive regulations have been praised by the international community. The World Health Organization (WHO) commended the “100% smoke-free ordinance” as a major breakthrough for the city. WHO stated the regulations “will have the way for national tobacco control legislation.”
Data from WHO shows that China has more than 300 million smokers. 28.1% of Chinese adults, and more than half of men are regular smokers. More than 100 million people in China die every year from tobacco-related diseases. This is equivalent to 3,000 people a day. In addition, 700 million people are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke, which causes 100,000 deaths each year.
Source: thepaper.cn
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Keywords: Beijing smoking ban Chinese smokers smoking in China
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Well, this will certainly stop the problem of smoking indoors. After all, Chinese are nothing if not well behaved, and I'm sure they'll be more than willing to follow rules that are set up to benefit other people. Maybe it will be as big a success as the ban on illegal parking.
Jan 19, 2016 20:01 Report Abuse
It's crazy that the smog in many big cities in China already hurts people's lungs, and then on top of that, they smoke. That being said, I also do things to my body that aren't healthy, so I sort of understand why people smoke.
Jan 18, 2016 19:14 Report Abuse
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