Editorials

Time to stub the butt

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-04 07:58

Coming home from a night out with your clothes stinking of smoke is extremely unpleasant.

But you don't have to worry about the smell now as China implemented a complete ban on smoking in indoor public places from Sunday.

The country's smokers are no longer allowed to smoke in bars, workplaces, hotels, clubs or any other enclosed public areas. It is certainly not good news for smokers in China.

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But it is too early to expect the country's heavy tobacco addiction will be reduced dramatically. The Ministry of Health's new rules are defined too vaguely. It leaves execution a hard nut to crack.

Prior to the implementation of the ban on May 1 prohibiting smoking in indoor public places, the Ministry of Health failed to roll out a comprehensive public education program to provide the public with information about the ban.

Hard as it is, the country has set off on the long journey to become smoke free, which should have started earlier.

We hope that the government takes the latest effort to control smoking in earnest.

Given the 300 million to 350 million smokers in the country, as estimated by the World Health Organization, it will be difficult to make the indoor public venues smoke free.

The ban does not specify punishments for violators - either for smokers or operators of public places.

Similar rules on anti-social behavior such as spitting and littering are frequently ignored.

Many people in this country are good at dancing with the regulations. Such things as drivers turning a blind eye to traffic rules are a common occurrence.

To make the new rules on curbing smoking a real mission, the Ministry of Health should come up with provisions on implementing them as quickly as possible.

The new rules are acting in the best interest of smokers, non-smokers and the country.

Cigarette smoking is a dangerous addiction. For many people, smoking is a health issue. The tobacco-related diseases include obesity, diabetes and hypertension.

Non-smokers can enjoy their right to freedom from exposure to proven carcinogens. Some 740 million people are secondhand smokers, and there is strong evidence that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause damage to the cardiovascular system.

Banning smoking in indoor public places is ultimately a quality of life issue.

We should be doing a great deal more to stop people smoking. We call on the government to rethink its heavy dependence on tobacco revenues. Meanwhile, more has to be done to persuade the public of the merits of the ban on smoking.

Every time a rule is issued, the credibility of the government is tested. This time, it is the Ministry of Health.

(China Daily 05/04/2011 page8)