Smoking continues in spite of Beijing ban
Print Edition
ONE month after Beijing introduced a tough smoking ban, 40 organizations and 90 individuals have been fined for breaking the regulation, local authorities said yesterday.
“The fines totaled about 100,000 yuan (US$16,120),” said Gao Xiaojun, an official with the capital’s health authority.
Gao said an anti-smoking tip-off hotline had received 3,305 complaints, of which 56 percent were about smoking in office buildings and restaurants.
The ban that has been in effect since June 1 prohibits smoking in all indoor public places, workplaces, and on public transport.
Individuals caught smoking may be fined up to 200 yuan, while businesses may have to pay up to 10,000 yuan if they fail to discourage smoking on their premises.
Liu Kaihe, an insurance company employee, said: “I am a frequent guest at hotels. I don’t think anyone will bother you if you just shut the door and smoke inside a hotel room.”
A restaurant waiter said: “I have met many guests who wanted to smoke in designated rooms when discouraged from smoking in the lobby. Then I had to explain things to them.”
Li Qiyuan, an employee in a state-owned company, said that some higher-level officials with private offices were still smoking indoors.
“It’s like a privilege for them, and who dares to complain about it?” he said, “I think more supervision is needed here.”
He suggested private offices be equipped with smoke detectors.
Wang Benjin, vice director of the Beijing Health Inspection Institute, said enforcement of the ban in private offices relied on tip-offs.
“Law enforcement officers will not knock on the doors of private offices for random inspections, but we will look at complaints,” he said.
Zhang Jianshu, head of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, said that though the ban prohibits cigarette sales within 100 meters of schools, there are still more than 1,000 shops selling cigarettes in those areas.
Officials from the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce said they were negotiating with the city’s tobacco monopoly bureau to solve the problem.
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