Latest Beijing tobacco smoking ban to be enforced

Beijing residents have been assured that a tobacco smoking ban due to come into force later this year will be enforced, according to a Global Times story quoting the Xinhua news agency.

The Beijing municipal legislature in November passed an anti-smoking bill banning smoking in all indoor public places and workplaces, and on public transport. It is scheduled to take effect in June 2015.

But the public is skeptical about whether the smoking ban will be taken seriously because smokers are still seen puffing away in restaurants, schools and other public spaces in Beijing, despite previous smoking bans in these places.

In response to the public’s doubts, Zhong Dongbo, deputy head of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, said the local government would increase law-enforcement teams and launch tip-off hotlines to make sure the new regulation was implemented effectively.

“Local departments will take measures when illegal smoking is reported, and reports from the public and how these reports are handled will be recorded,” Zhong said.