Plans to impose indoor tobacco smoking ban nationwide in China by year’s end

China’s health authorities are aiming to roll out a nationwide tobacco smoking ban in enclosed public places by year’s end, according to a story by Zhuang Pinghui for the South China Morning Post.

Zhuang said this was the first time that the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) had set a target date to meet its commitment to cut down on indoor tobacco use.

NHFPC spokesperson Mao Qunan reportedly said the agency was working on the regulation with the State Council. A ban had been on the agenda of China’s cabinet since last year.

Mao said the commission was also trying to have the National People’s Congress pass a law aimed at containing the harm caused by tobacco use.

The announcement represents the closest that Beijing has come to a timetable for meeting its pledge to create a smoke-free indoor environment as part of its obligations under the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Meanwhile, according to an Ecns.cn story, the NHFPC has said that “over 1 million Chinese people die of smoking-related diseases every year, and 100,000 people die of diseases caused by passive smoking.”