Nation-wide ban sought

Anti-tobacco campaigners in China have renewed calls for a national ban on smoking in public places, according to a story by Wang Xiaoyu for the China Daily.

The Beijing-based Thinktank Research Center for Health Development (TRCHD), which lobbies for tougher tobacco control measures, called last week for the creation of a smoke-free environment for the public.

The latest draft of a basic medical care and health promotion law, which was published in October and is under review by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, highlights the need for publicity campaigns to curb smoking and higher taxes on tobacco products.

Kelvin Khow, a technical officer for the World Health Organization’s Tobacco Free Initiative, said the new draft was encouraging, “but regarding smoke-free public places, we need stronger wording – to ban smoking in all indoor areas”.

The draft, he said, used less-specific phrases such as “control smoking in public places”.

Khow said nearly 90 percent of Chinese people were not protected by smoke-free laws, making them vulnerable to health risks from second-hand smoke.

“We’re hurting people by not acting on a national law,” he said.

Twenty-one Chinese cities have banned smoking in indoor public spaces, with the latest being Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province, in November.

Zhangjiakou, co-host of the 2022 Winter Olympics, is expected to join them soon. It released a draft regulation in September.

Wu Yiqun, deputy director of the TRCHD, said tobacco companies were hindering the launch of a nationwide ban.

“At the very least, we should stop advertising and sponsorship by tobacco businesses and introduce larger graphic warnings on all tobacco products,” she said. “A healthy China must be smoke free.”