SHANGHAI: The days when one could blithely light up a cigarette anywhere one wanted have become a thing of the past, and a new revision to smoking regulations will soon place restaurants, security offices and many other public places out of bounds for smokers.

The existing regulation against smoking in public was put in place in 1994, and revised in 1997. It forbade smoking in theatres, cinemas and concert halls, gaming arcades, song and dance halls, stadiums, libraries, museums, shops larger than 200 sq m, clinics and patients' wards, classrooms and laboratories.

The first draft of the new revision is expected in the second half of this year. According to the authorities, there is strong demand for Shanghai to forbid smoking in public, particularly with the 2008 Olympics and 2010 World Expo both drawing close. Despite the existing regulations, smoking is a common sight in many public places. People regularly smoke in non-smoking areas. Still, people caught smoking in public paid a combined 320,000 yuan (about $41,600) worth of fines last year.

"I tell them to put it out if I see someone smoking in the hall, but I have no power to demand fines. I smoke in the janitors' office because everyone working here smokes, so it doesn't bother anyone."

Zhou Ming, office-building guard

"We smoke in a special area in the office building because we don't want to expose people who don't smoke to any second-hand smoke. But if my smoking buddy Zhu and I were the only two people in the office, then nobody could stop us from smoking at our desks. Still, I'd understand it and accept it if smoking were prohibited at restaurants."

Feng Tao, editor at Shanghai Translation Publishing House

"The boss' attitude is important on this issue. If the boss himself smokes in the office, more people will feel free to follow suit. Smoking is strictly forbidden in the exhibition hall. It is extremely dangerous to smoke in an art museum."

Zhang Hong, staff at Shanghai Art Museum

"No smoking in my shop. Didn't you read the signboard? I don't care if it affects my cigarette sales, I don't want people to smoke in here. I'm always telling them to go outside."

Zhang Lihua, convenience shop clerk

"I hate those people who smoke in the elevator. The smell is intolerable in a closed environment. Once my foreign colleague confronted a man who had lit a cigarette in the elevator. The man was embarrassed, but usually there isn't a lot that can be done if someone smokes. If it's a driver, you can complain to the taxi company or refuse to pay for the ride. But if somebody is smoking at a restaurant at the table next you, what can you do besides complain to the waitress? They usually can't do anything about it. Only very fine restaurants in China have separate dining areas for smokers and non-smokers."

He Yi, a white-collar office worker

(China Daily 05/11/2007 page5)