Shanghai Releases Tobacco Control White Paper; Smoking in Restaurants Remains Hard to Stop

Introduction: Shanghai's tobacco control efforts have further intensified, with 252 units and 107 individuals fined for violating tobacco control regulations, totaling 481,600 yuan. Despite the release of the tobacco control white paper, smoking remains difficult to curb.

According to reports, Shanghai's tobacco control efforts have intensified, with 252 units and 107 individuals fined for violating tobacco control regulations, totaling 481,600 yuan, showing a significant increase compared to 2012. Due to the stereotype of "smoking and drinking go hand in hand," restaurants have become the hardest places to discourage smoking. This was revealed at the press conference for the "Shanghai Tobacco Control White Paper" on the 3rd.

 

On March 1, the "Shanghai Public Places Smoking Control Regulations" marked its fourth anniversary. Every year around this time, Shanghai releases an annual report on the "status of smoking control in public places" (referred to as the tobacco control white paper), which has become highly anticipated by the tobacco control community and the public concerned about tobacco control in China and Shanghai. According to the released tobacco control white paper, Shanghai's supervision of smoking control in public places continues to intensify, especially with significant increases in the number of fines and cases handled by public security and cultural law enforcement departments. The number of cases filed and fined by public security increased from 146 in 2012 to 184, with total fines rising from 85,900 yuan in 2012 to 127,600 yuan; the cultural law enforcement department's cases increased from 57 in 2012 to 69, with total fines rising from 166,600 yuan in 2012 to 207,100 yuan.

Meanwhile, in 2013, Shanghai achieved a "zero breakthrough" in smoking fines for government agencies, with 8 government units and 4 staff members fined a total of 47,200 yuan, which has had a certain deterrent effect on improving the smoking control situation in related units.

Significant differences in smoking control effectiveness across different venues

Previously, internet cafes, entertainment venues (mainly KTV), and restaurants were the three major smoking "disaster areas" in Shanghai. However, under various pressures, monitoring data for the entire year of 2013 showed a significant decline in the incidence of smoking violations in internet cafes and entertainment venues compared to 2012. The incidence of smoking violations in internet cafes dropped by more than ten percentage points—from 54.4% in 2012 to 41.8%; the incidence in entertainment venues fell by nearly 6 percentage points—from 46.1% in 2012 to 40.5%. In contrast, the smoking issue in restaurants has become more prominent, with the incidence of smoking violations rising from about 25% in 2012 to around 26%.

Reporters interviewed some restaurant operators, who expressed helplessness regarding smoking control efforts, stating, "We often say 'smoking and drinking go hand in hand.' If we don't allow some customers to smoke, they feel very disappointed. It's hard to discourage them when we are in business. On the other hand, non-smoking customers are very annoyed by the rising smoke, and separating smoking and non-smoking areas does not completely isolate the irritating smoke smell."

In response, a relevant person in charge of smoking control stated that objective monitoring data has reflected a clear correlation between the intensity of smoking control supervision and the smoking situation in venues. "Different venues have varying effectiveness in smoking control due to the differing intensity of supervision by regulatory bodies. Emphasizing both enforcement and publicity is the only effective means of smoking control supervision."

In 2014, Shanghai will further strengthen smoking control enforcement. Li Zhongyang, deputy director of the Shanghai Health Promotion Committee, revealed that in 2014, Shanghai will promote indoor comprehensive smoke-free legislation while simultaneously conducting health education and legal education, forming research reports and legislative texts to prepare for the timely revision of the current regulations. It can be expected that "comprehensive smoking control" will be the trend.