New smoking ban takes effect, but will it work?
Print Edition
I WAS really excited when March 1 arrived this week. This is the day I can breathe easy, I thought to myself, because Shanghai’s toughest-ever smoking ban came into effect. But will it work?
Well, there is one big reason giving me hope that this particular ban, above all the others that have been put in place with limited effect over the last few years, will finally manage to eliminate the risk of secondhand smoke in Shanghai’s public places.
That is the promotion of the hotline — 12345 — which citizens can call to complain about those flouting the ban. (I called the number and the man who answered, after I hit “1,” told me that foreigners who can’t speak Chinese can also call and request an English-speaking operator — awesome!)
Basically, if you see someone smoking in a mall or airport or similar, and they refuse to put it out, you could call the number — if you’re brave enough! — and apparently someone will respond who will fine that person up to 200 yuan (US$29.40).
And the fine gets even more heftier when it comes to business owners flouting the law. If you complain to a restaurant manager, for example, that the guy next to you is puffing smoke in your face and they refuse to act, the restaurant can be charged up to 30,000 yuan!
But I spoke with two business owners in a very unscientific survey and found that at least some are afraid these new measures will fail to have any effect at all. “It’s all just lip-service!” one hotel manager scoffed. A small restaurant owner told me that she is afraid to ask customers to stub out over fear that she will lose income.
It’s probably still too early, even for the business owners I spoke with, to really gauge the level to which the Shanghai government will or won’t strictly enforce this ban — if they know the city is serious about change, then they may feel more optimistic about doing their part to help.
The smoking hotline received nearly 300 complaint calls by 4pm on its first day, but in a city of more than 24 million — and countless instances of indoor smoking, at least before the ban — it’s really hard to know if that is enough.
I remember when New Zealand banned public smoking in 2004, cafes and restaurants and nightclubs all had the same fears — it was like the end of the world was coming! But a strict, 100 percent blanket ban levels the playing field and means customers won’t leave in droves, in search of establishments that will allow them to smoke.
So that’s the key here, I reckon: if every single business and public place cracks down hard on smokers, then no one will lose money and people will just have to get used to the idea that their secondhand smoke is not wanted.
It’s looking promising, if the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission’s survey is anything to go by: 78 percent knew of the new smoking ban, and out of those a whopping 95 percent said they support it.
Another lesson I learned from New Zealand, which would no doubt help immensely here in Shanghai, is that if the public attitude toward smoking in public shifts — basically smokers need to be viewed as social pariahs — then smokers will actually feel ashamed every time they spark up in a school foyer, public toilet, or restaurant.
And they should. They really should.
Editor’s note:
Andy Boreham comes from New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, and has lived in China, off and on, for the past four years. Now he is living in Shanghai earning a master’s degree in Chinese culture and language at Fudan University. He welcomes your feedback on all of the issues he covers — you can reach him at andy.boreham@shanghaidaily.com.
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