Shanghai welcomes indoor smoking ban

SHANGHAI: The World Health Organization and some members of the public said they welcome the extended smoking ban in Shanghai aimed at better shielding residents from secondhand smoke.

The new regulation prohibiting smoking at all public indoor venues and indoor working areas was recently approved by the city’s legislative body, Shanghai Municipal Peoples Congress, and will take effect in March next year.

Other locations included in the extended smoking ban are a greater number of outdoor places, such as artistic performance and sporting venues, open areas at maternity and infant hospitals, and bus stops.

The regulation was passed 10 days before the 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion, which is to be held in Shanghai from yesterday to Thursday this week, focusing on promoting public health.

We are delighted that, with the adoption of this new law, Shanghai will be protecting nonsmokers from the health risks of inhaling secondhand smoke, said Doctor Bernhard Schwartlander, WHO representative in China.

“When this new law comes into force in March next year, the people of Shanghai will be able to breathe smoke-free air indoors,” he said.

“This is a huge step forward for the health of Shanghai’s more than 20 million residents whose deaths caused by involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke are entirely preventable.

“And from a public health perspective, that is simply unacceptable,” Schwartlander added.

But experts insist that the air around these designated venues still contains high levels of PM2.5, which is produced by smoking and can cause cancer.

Individuals caught smoking at nonsmoking areas will be fined between 50 and 200 yuan (RM31 to RM128) and organisations that fail to stop smokers will be fined up to 30,000 yuan (RM19,222).

Management of public areas are required to organise special staff to stop people from smoking, educate them on the ban and report violations. — China Daily/Asia News Network