Health experts, researchers call for cigarette ban on slow trains

Experts called for an outright ban on smoking throughout China's railway network, after air quality inspections found dangerous levels of harmful pollutants on slow trains. Most slow trains currently allow tobacco use in designated areas.

Researchers led by the Chinese Association of Tobacco Control examined four slow trains in October. Three of the trains had set up designated smoking areas in connecting areas between carriages, and one had banned tobacco use.

Results released on Thursday showed the concentration of PM2.5 in carriages of trains where passengers can smoke exceed 500 micrograms per cubic meter.