Beijing to Step Up Tobacco Control, E-Cigarettes May Benefit

  Starting June 1, the tobacco control regulation known as the “strictest in history,” the Beijing Municipal Smoking Control Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulation”), officially came into effect. Under the new rules, 100% of indoor areas in all public places across Beijing are legally smoke-free. From that point on, smoking is prohibited in indoor environments of public places and workplaces throughout the city, as well as on public transportation; outdoor smoking is also subject to many restrictions, such as no smoking while waiting in line. Violators may be fined up to RMB 200 for individuals and up to RMB 10,000 for organizations.

  Many tobacco control experts said that Beijing’s comprehensive smoking ban in public places is an encouraging step forward. However, during implementation of the regulation, further refinement and improvement will still be needed to prevent the “devil in the details” from undermining the effectiveness of the ban.

  According to the 2014 China Youth Tobacco Survey Report released last year by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China has more than 300 million smokers, accounting for nearly 30% of the world’s total smoking population, and about 740 million non-smokers are affected by secondhand smoke.

  Diseases caused by smoking cannot be ignored. According to statistics, more than 1.2 million people in China die every year from diseases related to smoking and passive smoking. Jiang Yuan, Director of the Tobacco Control Office of the China CDC, said that the economic burden of three categories of smoking-attributable diseases among Chinese adults aged 35 and above reached RMB 223.72 billion. In addition, secondhand smoke contains a large amount of harmful substances and carcinogens, and exposure to it increases the risk of a variety of smoking-related diseases. Smoking can be said to bring no benefit at all, either to oneself or to others.

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