A crackdown on public smoking has been initiated in Beijing
As of June 1, 2015, smokers in Beijing must confine their habit to the privacy of their homes. Smoking is now illegal in in all public places throughout the city, including bars, restaurants, schools, hospitals, and hotels.
The ban will affect 4.2 million smokers in Beijing, making public smoking illegal for approximately 1.4 per cent of China’s total population of 300 million smokers.
These new regulations will be enforced by a tough crackdown by the Beijing government. Over 1,000 inspectors trained by the Beijing Health Inspection and Supervision Bureau will patrol the city to ensure that the news rules are abided.
If citizens are caught smoking, they will be forced to pay a fine of 200 Yuan (approximately $40.20). Business owners will face far heftier fines of 10,000 Yuan ($2014.89). These new fines are a large step up from the 10 Yuan ($2) fees put into place from the previous partial ban.
Additionally, violators will be publicly shamed by having their names added to a government-owned website.
A chain hot pot restaurant was caught violating the rules on the first day of the ban, when cigarettes were found in the men’s room. The Beijing government made an example of the restaurant, by threatening a 10,000-Yuan fine if any traces of cigarettes were found when inspectors returned two days later. The owners complied, and the inspectors eventually returned to find all cigarettes cleaned up.
China’s new legislation may not be welcome news to many of Beijing’s citizens. Smoking has long been a part of Chinese culture. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over half of Chinese men are smokers, and 740 million Chinese people are exposed to secondhand smoke.
The habit starts, early, too—most Chinese start smoking before 11-years-of-age.
Low taxes make smoking more accessible to the general population. Tax rates in China are at approximately 43.4 per cent, which is nearly 20 per cent less than Japan and Singapore – two other countries with high smoking rates.
These low rates mean that cheaper cigarette brands cost as little as $1.25 per pack in China.
This accessibility comes with serious consequences: every year, 1.3 million Chinese citizens die of lung cancer, which is one third of the world’s total lung cancer-related deaths. In fact, cancer is the leading cause of death in China, with lung cancer as the number one killer.
In spite of the major health effects, the Chinese government has been reluctant to attempt to reduce cigarette consumption, due in part to the tax revenue that cigarette sales bring in. Government attitudes have changed, however, to acknowledge the massive strain that smoking puts on the healthcare system.
Public attitudes are changing, too, with public smoking being considered as more of a nuisance, contributing to the city’s infamous air pollution.
According to WHO anti-smoking expert Angela Pratt, making public smoking illegal could further taint smoking’s image in the public eye.
“That’s what we have seen all over the world when strong smoke-free laws are adopted and there is strong enforcement effort. The social norms changed,” Pratt said in an interview published in the Toronto Star.
Only time will tell if the ban will have a serious effect on such long-held attitudes, but it is a step towards a healthier Beijing.
Photo by Nick Huang via CC BY-SA 2.0