Puffing and huffing: Raise the burden

Two lifestyle-altering events have greeted us lately: One is the smoking ban (partial) in the capital which went into force last month; the other is paying for plastic bags at groceries and eateries, effective nationwide this month.

In both cases, if the objective is a healthier nation and a cleaner environment, the moves seem half measures.

Take the smoking ban in Beijing, for example. As part of the promise to make the Olympics smoke-free, lighting up will not be allowed in most public buildings - and, of course, Games venues - but restaurants, bars and Internet cafes will have smoking areas.