Full Smoking Ban on High-Speed Trains, But Smoking Areas on Regular Trains? Top-Level Policy Design

The railway department recently released an upgraded version of the "Smoking Penalty Regulations for High-Speed Trains," clearly stating that passengers caught smoking on high-speed trains will be penalized twice and will no longer be able to purchase tickets for high-speed trains. Some passengers have questioned why there is a complete smoking ban on high-speed trains with strict penalties, while regular trains do not have such a ban. In response, the railway department stated that regular trains are not fully enclosed, and the travel time between stations is too long, so smoking areas are set up for humane considerations.

It is already a consensus that smoking is harmful to health. The railway department's implementation of a complete smoking ban on high-speed trains and the introduction of strict penalties is undoubtedly commendable. However, it is somewhat regrettable that the issue of smoking on regular trains remains unresolved, as smoking areas are set up for "humane considerations." While this setup is "humane" for smokers, it somewhat undermines the interests of non-smoking passengers. After all, in reality, smoking areas are not isolated from the carriages, and passengers seated near smoking areas often suffer the consequences. Moreover, although smoking is banned in the carriages of regular trains, enforcement is quite difficult, leading to an awkward situation where "no one manages smoking, and complaints go unheard."

In my view, the railway department's complete smoking ban on high-speed trains is more a result of hardware constraints. For instance, high-speed trains are fully enclosed, operate at high speeds, and are equipped with numerous sensors that trigger emergency deceleration or stopping if smoke is detected. In contrast, for regular trains, smoking does not pose a threat to train operation under normal circumstances, so the railway department naturally lacks the motivation for a complete smoking ban.

It is undeniable that implementing a complete smoking ban will inevitably increase the management difficulty for relevant departments and raise management and operational costs. Therefore, in the absence of external constraints, the mindset of "better to do less than to do more" is not uncommon. In fact, not only is there a lack of a smoking ban on regular trains, but the same awkwardness also exists for a complete smoking ban in indoor public places. As the first international treaty related to human health formed with the participation of the World Health Organization, Article 8, Paragraph 2 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control clearly requires that "each party shall take and implement, within the existing national jurisdiction as defined by national law, and actively promote the adoption and implementation of effective legislation, implementation, administrative and/or other measures to prevent exposure to tobacco smoke in indoor workplaces, public transport, indoor public places, and, where appropriate, other public places." China signed this convention on November 10, 2003, and it officially took effect in China on February 27, 2005. However, for the provisions of the international convention to be implemented in China, domestic laws are needed, and so far, there are no laws or administrative regulations to make corresponding provisions, leading to the significant obstacle of "no legal authorization" for a complete smoking ban in public places.

It is encouraging that, under a favorable advocacy and public opinion atmosphere, several local governments have successively formulated smoke-free policies. For example, the "Beijing Smoking Control Regulations" passed last year stipulate that "indoor public places must be completely smoke-free, and no smoking rooms shall be set up"; this year, the "Shanghai Public Places Smoking Control Regulations Amendment (Draft)" was first reviewed by the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and publicly solicited opinions, expanding the indoor smoking ban from specific indoor public places to all indoor public places. It should be said that limiting smoking behavior to private occasions that do not affect others is the main direction of current tobacco control. As for the railway department, it should take the initiative to increase pressure, adopt a firmer attitude towards tobacco control, and implement more comprehensive measures to promote a complete smoking ban on regular trains.