Editorials

Smoke-free public places

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-24 07:58

The Ministry of Health's determination to ban smoking in public places is clear.

The department issued rules and regulations for enforcing the health management ordinance for public places on Tuesday. They will go into effect on May 1.

All indoor public places are required to ban smoking and non-smoking logos are mandated to remind people not to light up. Also, outdoor passageways where pedestrians walk should not be set aside for smoking areas.

The government has included the smoking ban in all indoor public places in its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), which means that for the first time China has put smoking control into its national economic and social development program.

Related readings:  Countdown to indoor smoking ban  No good reasons for smoking in public  Support grows for strong action on smoking

We regard this as a milestone in the nation's efforts to ban smoking in public.

A complete ban on smoking in all indoor public places will protect the health of non-smokers. According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 740 million people in the nation are exposed to secondhand smoke in public places and at home.

Smokers can choose cigarettes, but they should show their respect for non-smokers by staying outside when smoking.

The center expects that the smoking ban will not only reduce the consumption of cigarettes but also the impact of passive smoking on people's health.

The nation's 12th Five-Year Plan has a vision of raising our average life expectancy from 73.5 to 74.5. The smoking ban in all indoor public places will help make this goal possible.

Today some 1.2 million Chinese die of tobacco-related diseases every year - two deaths every minute on average.

There is a clear roadmap for smoking control within five years and the government is required to come up with national regulations to enforce it.

Smoking control means no smoking in all indoor public places and zero ads, promotion and sponsorship for tobacco. Selling cigarettes to teenagers is not allowed. All these goals are required by the United Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which China ratified.

The government needs to be strict in restricting smoking in public areas and to ban cigarette advertising. It is not only a question of weak regulations but of weak implementation.

Even more shocking is that every year, more women, children, young people and the poor become addicted to cigarettes. The spike in growth of new smokers in China cannot be separated from the nation's weak regulations and abysmal law enforcement on tobacco use.

Now the Ministry of Health has shown the political will to take on tobacco smoking.

(China Daily 03/24/2011 page8)