Health ministry bans smoking in its building

Beijing - Smoking will no longer be allowed inside the building of the Ministry of Health from May 31, making it the country's first central government department to ban smoking indoors.

A working group led by Health Minister Chen Zhu has been formed to strictly implement the ban inside the 19-story building, Yang Qing, a division director of the ministry, told a regular news briefing on Monday.

"The latest initiative is actually part of the goal announced previously to ban smoking indoors at health institutions and administrations nationwide by the end of 2011," Yang said.