There's no smoke without ire

Ban on lighting up in public could help people quit the habit, but it will be slow going

A smoking ban issued by the Ministry of Health came into force on May 1. The prohibition forbids smoking in public venues, which is interpreted to include restaurants and bars, as well as hotels and public transport. However, it won't impact on smoking in the workplace, said Jiang Yuan, deputy director of the National Office of Tobacco Control.

At face value, the ban appears to be good news, especially for non-smokers. There are as many as 300 million smokers on the Chinese mainland, with the number who die from smoking-related illness accounting for one-fifth of the world's total - an incredible 1.2 million a year, according to the World Health Organization. One would hope a ban would help provide a decent incentive for some of these smokers to quit when they are no longer able to smoke as easily in public.