Shanghai clamps down on smokers

SHANGHAI - The city's first law to ban smoking, which applies to 12 types of public venues, such as schools, hospitals, shopping malls, Internet caf and elevators, took effect Monday. Random checks showed that most establishments are following the law, and volunteers are working to enforce it.

The law requires public venues, including bars, restaurants and hotels, to set up designated non-smoking areas. People who smoke in banned areas will be first warned by supervisors, and then fined 50 yuan ($7.30) to 200 yuan if they refuse to stop, according to the law.

On the first day the new law took effect, a China Daily reporter randomly selected eight restaurants and found that most restaurants have set up non-smoking areas with "No smoking" signs. Some also posted the supervision hotline numbers on the wall.