Credit ratings up in smoke

Health authorities in Beijing will include illegal tobacco smoking into citizens’ credit records as part of the city’s smoke-free Beijing campaign, according to a China.org.cn story quoting the Beijing Youth Daily.
In addition to publicly naming and shaming offenders, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning will share information about their offending with the city’s industry and commerce authorities.
Citizens in Beijing with a bad credit record could face difficulties in applying for commercial loans.
Beijing imposed a blanket smoking ban on June 1, 2015, covering all indoor public places, workplaces and public transportation. The ban is said to be the strictest of its kind in China.
According to a report by the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, 2,265 violations of the ban were reported to the public WeChat account of Smoke-free Beijing between August and September this year.
Meanwhile, the association reported also an increasing number of complaints over the use of electronic cigarettes in public places.
In response, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning said that more studies would be carried out into the harm caused by vaping electronic cigarettes to provide a scientific basis for its control.