Campaign promoting China smoking ban

A monthlong publicity campaign is being run in China aimed at promoting a nationwide ban on smoking in public places, according to a story in the South China Morning Post quoting the Xinhua news agency.

A spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission, Mao Qunan, told a launch ceremony in Beijing on Monday that the campaign was aimed also at raising public awareness of the health risks of tobacco use.

China has pledged to ban smoking in public areas, including restaurants, hotels, bars, cinemas and public transport, as part of its obligations under the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. China ratified the convention in 2005 but has failed to enforce all its anti-smoking measures.

“China still faces an uphill battle to honour its commitment on smoking control,” said Mao. “The popularity of tobacco use is partly due to the lack of understanding of smoking-induced diseases and the harm of being exposed to secondary smoke.”

Health authorities said in January they aimed to roll out a nationwide smoking ban in public places by the end of this year.

And the central government issued an order in December telling Communist Party officials to “lead by example” and stop smoking in areas such as government offices, schools, hospitals and sports and cultural venues.