Smoking ban in China, Asia

[ahojunk]

Shanghai should strictly enforce these rules.
Increase the fines!

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New rules to allow smoking rooms
Shanghai Daily, September 14, 2016

Indoor smoking rooms are to be allowed at companies or factories where naked flames are banned outdoors, and in unspecified restricted places where there are security concerns, the Shanghai People's Congress said yesterday. Smoking indoors as part of a stage performance would also be allowed, according to a draft regulation.

Otherwise, the city's smoking ban is to be extended to all indoor public venues, including hotels, restaurants, offices, airports and public transport, the city's legislative body said. These stricter rules will be further evaluated and revised but are expected to come into force before the city hosts the 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion — an event co-organized by the World Health Organization — in November.

"The amended regulation aims to better protect the public from second-hand smoke, but also needs to take into the feasibility of the rules into consideration," city legislator Lin Huabin said yesterday.

He said companies setting up indoor smoking rooms would have to get prior approval from the city's health and family planning commission. They must have separate ventilation facilities and be isolated from non-smoking areas.

Other venues can have outdoor smoking areas, except public venues for minors, such as primary schools, kindergartens and training institutes, children's hospitals, historic venues, stadiums and public transport waiting areas.

Outdoor smoking areas must be away from the public and have signs saying "Smoking is harmful to health," Lin said. They will also have to be approved by the city's fire prevention authority.

City and district governments will have the right to set up temporary non-smoking areas, according to the draft bill.

The current regulation, which was introduced in 2009 ahead of the World Expo in 2010, stipulates that star-rated hotels, restaurants, airports, railway stations and ferry terminals can set up smoking areas or smoking rooms and hotels are allowed to have designated smoking rooms.

Fines for breaking the new laws are unchanged at 50-200 yuan (US$7.49-US$30) for individuals and up to 30,000 yuan for companies.

The public will be encouraged to report any violations of the new rules by sending pictures to hotline 12345.

Two surveys earlier this year, by the city's health commission and the legislative body, found over 90 percent of the public supporting a ban on smoking indoors.

 

[TaiShang]

Well you really have to go the heavy-handed route like we did. Ban cigarette advertisements on tv/internet/magazines/billboards/sports arenas/etc. Then put so much tax on it that it raises the price 600%. Then you start pressuring stores not to sell it easily by requiring them to be "behind the counter" instead of on shelves with the regular stuff.

I feel that fighting smoking in the rural areas (where smoking problem appears to be the worst) will prove to be much harder than the urban areas because regulations are harder to implement on daily-practical matters (such as office, public buildings, transportation). If the urban enforcement is already facing difficulties, I can't imagine the resistance in the rural areas which still host almost half of the nation's population.

I, therefore, fully agree about heavy-handed approach, starting from the business interests that keep cigarette industry going. In many developing countries, tobacco industry is a major source of tax, which impedes effective regulation. Heavy taxation therefore makes sense as it would discourage people smoking a lot while keeping tobacco industry happy.

I also liked the idea of plain packaging ( @ahojunk ) and, as you said, behind-the-counter sale.

 

[ahojunk]

Good news to see tobacco sales plunge, meaning less smokers.

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Tobacco Sales Plunge as China Imposes Higher Tax, Tighter Anti-smoking Ban
C. J. | Jul 03, 2016 10:40 PM EDT

The Chinese government steps up its effort in combatting tobacco usage and raises the
commodity's tax to 11 percent. (Photo : Reuters)​

China's heightened anti-smoking campaign and tax increase on cigars have pulled tobacco sales down for the first time in two decades.

According to latest figures, the country's tobacco consumption dipped 2.4 percent in 2015, its first drop since 1995. Revenue also dropped 11.7 percent year-on-year starting January to May, while profits fell 24 percent in the same time frame.

The sales fall is being attributed to the government's tighter campaign against smoking and extravagance. Last year, wholesale tax rate on cigars was hiked 11 percent, pushing retail prices of cigarettes up about 10 percent.

Similarly, China's tougher stance on smoking has impacted latest figures. Last year, the Chinese government banned indoor smoking, with selected outdoor public spaces also included in the restrictions.

Violators will face a fine between 50 yuan and 200 yuan, while business owners who fail to implement the ban will be charged up to 10,000 yuan.

President Xi Jinping's massive crackdown on extravagance has also taken its toll on tobacco sales.

"Luxury brands of cigarettes were mostly bought with public money for official receptions or gifts. The strict controls on government spending on banquets and gifts of high-end cigarettes have without doubt affected cigarette sales," tobacco control advocate Yang Gonghuan told the South China Morning Post.

Imposing control on tobacco has been a long-standing problem in China as the mainland's main source of tax revenue is in this industry.

China is the world's largest producer of tobacco products. It also has the biggest number of cigarette consumers, with more than 315 million users.

Despite the fall in tobacco revenues, China still covers about 45 percent of all cigarettes smoked globally.

"Given the size of the Chinese market, this decline exerted a huge impact on total volumes with the world picture worsening by more than 2 percent to reach around 5.5tn sticks, a significant deterioration set against a virtually flat performance in 2014," Shane MacGuill, head of tobacco research at Euromonitor, told the Financial Times.


Read more: http://en.yibada.com/articles/13745...-campaign-china-smoking-ban.htm#ixzz4L671EKjI

 

[ahojunk]

Taipei’s first non-smoking commercial zone inaugurated
By Sean Lin / Staff reporter / Taipei Times
Fri, Sep 23, 2016

An anti-smoking volunteer holds up a placard announcing a new policy designating a pedestrian zone
in Taipei’s Xinyi District as the city’s first non-smoking commercial district. Sep 23, 2016​

A pedestrian zone surrounding the Chianti Plaza in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) has been designated as the city’s first non-smoking commercial district.

The Taipei Department of Environmental Protection and the Taipei Department of Health yesterday jointly set up signs in the plaza, informing people that smoking is no longer permitted.

Starting in November, people who smoke in the non-smoking area would be fined between NT$2,000 and NT$10,000, while those who throw cigarette butts on the ground would be fined between NT$1,500 and NT$5,000.

Smoking is banned in the Chianti Plaza and the adjacent Songshou Plaza, as well as in the open spaces in front of the Breeze Center Songgao branch on Songgao Road and in front of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi’s A9 and A11 buildings on Songshou Road.

However, there are three designated smoking areas in the pedestrian zone, the agencies said.

The Taipei Department of Environmental Protection said that the commercial district is frequented by many people and that it hopes the new measure would end the prevalence of cigarette butts and mitigate the threat posed by secondhand smoke.

The department said that it would deploy inspectors to hand out tickets to people who smoke where they are not supposed to.

The Taipei Department of Health said that as the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法) does not prohibit people from smoking in arcades connected to commercial spaces, it hopes the non-smoking area will set an example for the establishment of more non-smoking zones.

 

[ahojunk]

The answer to the question below is NO.
Ban smoking in all public areas including trains.

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Should regular trains in China keep "smoking areas" for passengers?
2016-09-07 21:22:47 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Zhang Peng

Police officers on the rain post a non-smoking notice.
[Photo: morningpost.com.cn]​

China's rail authorities launched an "upgraded" smoking ban late last month, stipulating that passengers who were punished by police for smoking in bullets trains (high-speed trains) could also face restrictions on the future purchase of bullet train tickets.

It seems that the strict ban applies only to passengers embarking on the "high-speed" trains, because smoking is still common in regular train carriages and most trains even set up smoking areas for smokers.

"Smoking areas" sound like a great idea to resolve the disputes between smokers and non-smokers in the train, but in truth, second-hand smoke can still spread to other carriages and affect other passengers.

A Beijing citizen surnamed Chen had a terrible experience after spending the night on a regular train. Chen booked a berth on the train for a business trip, but unfortunately was not able to enjoy his overnight journey since his berth was in close proximity to the "smoking area." Smoke drifting from the smoking carriage, seriously impacted his sleep. Chen says in consideration for the health and safety of other passengers in the train, he hopes smoking will be banned on regular trains.

Passengers are seen smoking at a rail station.
[Photo: Photo: morningpost.com.cn]​

Smokers also have their own difficulties during long journeys on "low-speed" trains. One of the smokers said the "low-speed" trains run a relatively long time, with some journeys lasting more than 24 hours. If the smoking areas are cancelled their journeys could prove quite trying.

A Beijing newspaper report cited the rail authority's explanation why smoking is still permitted on regular trains. The body of the "high-speed" trains is fully sealed, with numerous sensors that will trigger emergency slow-downs or stops. These could pose a danger to passengers aboard the train. Smoking is also banned in the majority of regular train carriages with only a smoking area located at the two ends of the train open to smokers. Arrangements for smoking areas are under the consideration, for those with serious smoking addictions that will have a hard time without a nicotine fix on longer journeys.

Some passengers also currently smoke in non-designated areas of the train.

The newspaper article also notes that on June 1st Beijing launched a smoking ban for all indoor public places and offices. This means that technically, smoking is completely banned on trains when they are on the territory of Beijing.

A Passenger is seen smoking at a rail station. [Photo: Photo: morningpost.com.cn]​

The President of Beijing Tobacco Control Association, Zhang Jianshu, said smoke generated in the smoking area cannot be completely isolated from other passenger carriages, and the speed with which it spreads is very fast. He advised a blanket smoking ban on all trains and encouraged passengers who can't go smokeless to smoke outdoors when the trains make station stops.

 

[ahojunk]

Less cigarette smoking will lead to less lung cancer.

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Feature: Rural China threatened by lung cancer
ShanghaiDaily.com
Source: XINHUA | Sep 23,2016

BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua ) -- Lung cancer has emerged as the leading killer in rural China, closing to the incidence and mortality of urban men and women stricken with the disease.

"The incidence and mortality of lung cancer has dramatically climbed in China's rural population over the past ten years," says surgical oncology professor Zhou Qinghua. "The rates for each have hit 47.6/100,000 and 39.1/100,000 respectively in 2015."

Lung cancer claimed 66,100 rural lives last year, overtaking breast cancer as the third leading cause of cancer deaths in women in 2015, which killed 25,700 women.

Speaking at the first West China International Conference on Lung Cancer recently held in Chengdu, Sichuan, Zhou noted that esophageal carcinoma that had been blamed for cancer deaths in rural China due to low fruit and fresh vegetable intake from the 1970s to the 1990s.

A well-established surgeon, Zhou receives as many as 1,000 lung cancer patients a year from all over the country, near 50 percent of them are farmers. "The youngest patient I saw was a 13 year old country girl from Sichuan, and a 14 country boy from Yunnan. The oldest one was a 91 year old rural grandpa . "

The old man had smoked most of his life, and his cancer was already in its late stages when detected. "But the 13 and 14 year old didn't smoke at all and had no family history of cancer. I deeply doubted that involuntary smoking and air pollution combined could be responsible," Zhou said.

In fact, Ge Jiu, the young boy's home county, is notorious for tin mining-related pollution that has brought about silicosis deaths affecting a huge number of people. Passive smoke and indoor air pollution are mainly responsible for the incidence of lung cancer in Chinese farmers, especially in those high-risk areas like Xuanwei county of Yunnan.

Dr. Qiao Youlin, an acclaimed epidemiologist of oncology noted that people of Xuanwei have lived in unhealthy conditions for generations. Most are still using firepits or coal ovens for cooking and heating. These release heavy PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) which creates indoor air pollution

The figures from the National Cancer Center suggested that the incidence and mortality rate of lung cancer in Xuanwei are two times higher than the country's average rate of 53.4/100,000 and 44.4/100,000 in 2015.

This disease is difficult to detect in its early stages, so most lung cancer cases are found during the late stages, said Zhou, who is also the director of Cancer Center & Institute of West China Hospital of Sichuan University.

According to Zhou, the overall 5-year survival rate for lung cancer as of 2015 stands at 16.7 %.

Unlike cervical cancer, caused by the HPV virus, the exact cause of lung cancer is yet unknown, making the disease difficult to curb.

However, certain risk factors for lung cancer, include smoking, exposure to air pollution, radon gas, and genetics, are scientifically known to play a part in causing cells to become cancerous.

About 75 percent of lung cancer cases in men in China are due to long-term tobacco smoking, while 25 percent occurs in men who have never smoked. While most of female lung cancer were not smoke.

In the case of rural China, second-hand smoking and indoor air pollution play a dominate role in lung cancer. In addition to that, Dr. Qiao thinks that a lack of awareness about the effects of tobacco smoking as a leading risk factor for lung cancer puts rural people's health in jeopardy.

He said some people may be nonsmokers, but under pressure of sharing smoking and gifting they become social smokers, joining in a gatherings.

In addition, smoke-free area legislation and policies are not in force in rural China.

In fact, the country does not have yet a national smoke-free law. So far only metropolitans like Beijing and Shanghai have banned smoking in public areas.

As of June 1, 2015, all indoor public places in Beijing are required by law to be 100 percent smoke-free, including indoor workplaces, restaurants and bars, hotels, airports, and public transport facilities.

Despite this, Dr. Qiao thinks that the country's constant promotion of urbanization and industrialization are responsible for increase in the number of farmers suffering lung cancer. He notes "these two ambitions have indeed brought heavy pollution to rural China."

In 2015, lung cancer occurred in 1.8 million people worldwide and claimed 1.6 million lives. And in China, there were 733,300 new cases and about 610, 200 people lost their battles with the disease.

Overall, about 19.5 percent of people in urban China with lung cancer survive five years after the diagnosis. Outcomes are depressingly lower in rural areas, where only about 11.2 percent survive for the same five years.

According to Dr. Qiao, a recent trend analysis shows the incidence of lung cancer in China has increased over the last 20 years and it is predicted that the disease burden will continue if no effective action taken to keep the disease at bay.

 

[ahojunk]

Although I don't like smoking but giving out a lifetime ban is too harsh.
But give these guys a very heavy fine that will deter them from offending again.

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China Railway denies lifetime ban of passengers caught smoking on high-speed trains
2016-09-30 16:38 | Ecns.cn | Editor: Mo Hong'e

(ECNS) -- China Railway Corp., the nation's railway operator, has denied its anti-smoking measures on high-speed trains included a lifetime ban against smokers caught twice.

A previous report said if a passenger smokes on a high-speed train, they would be fined and will have to promise not to violate the rules again. If there is a second offense by the passenger, railway authorities could prohibit them from buying high-speed train tickets in future.

The new rule is designed to build a database and credit system for the railway sector.

An official from China Railway Corporation, told Legal Daily that high-speed trains do implement strict rules against smoking due to safety concerns but there's no "black list" or lifetime ban against smokers.

A smoker recently triggered the alarm system and forced the halt of a high-speed train, reported Xinhua. The person received an administrative fine at a police station.

 

[ahojunk]

Although I don't like smoking but giving out a lifetime ban is too harsh.
But give these guys a very heavy fine that will deter them from offending again.

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China Railway denies lifetime ban of passengers caught smoking on high-speed trains
2016-09-30 16:38 | Ecns.cn | Editor: Mo Hong'e

(ECNS) -- China Railway Corp., the nation's railway operator, has denied its anti-smoking measures on high-speed trains included a lifetime ban against smokers caught twice.

A previous report said if a passenger smokes on a high-speed train, they would be fined and will have to promise not to violate the rules again. If there is a second offense by the passenger, railway authorities could prohibit them from buying high-speed train tickets in future.

The new rule is designed to build a database and credit system for the railway sector.

An official from China Railway Corporation, told Legal Daily that high-speed trains do implement strict rules against smoking due to safety concerns but there's no "black list" or lifetime ban against smokers.

A smoker recently triggered the alarm system and forced the halt of a high-speed train, reported Xinhua. The person received an administrative fine at a police station.

 

[GS Zhou]

Although I don't like smoking but giving out a lifetime ban is too harsh.
But give these guys a very heavy fine that will deter them from offending again.

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China Railway denies lifetime ban of passengers caught smoking on high-speed trains
2016-09-30 16:38 | Ecns.cn | Editor: Mo Hong'e

(ECNS) -- China Railway Corp., the nation's railway operator, has denied its anti-smoking measures on high-speed trains included a lifetime ban against smokers caught twice.

A previous report said if a passenger smokes on a high-speed train, they would be fined and will have to promise not to violate the rules again. If there is a second offense by the passenger, railway authorities could prohibit them from buying high-speed train tickets in future.

The new rule is designed to build a database and credit system for the railway sector.

An official from China Railway Corporation, told Legal Daily that high-speed trains do implement strict rules against smoking due to safety concerns but there's no "black list" or lifetime ban against smokers.

A smoker recently triggered the alarm system and forced the halt of a high-speed train, reported Xinhua. The person received an administrative fine at a police station.

This guy has been caught TWICE.

 

[war&peace]

HSR or not....no one should be allowed to smoke in confined public places like buildings, schools, classrooms, offices, hospitals, inside train stations and obviously the trains and buses.

 

[ahojunk]

This guy has been caught TWICE.

.
I understand he has been caught twice.

However, for those who are addicted to tobacco it is also difficult to kick the habit.

There should have an ever increasing scale of fine, especially if the HSR service is disrupted.

For example, the first time is RMB 1000, the second time is RMB 2000 and so forth.

HSR or not....no one should be allowed to smoke in confined public places like building, school, classrooms, office, hospitals, inside train stations and obviously the trains and buses.

.
If they smoke, punish them severely.

 

[war&peace]

If they smoke, punish them severely.

I'm allergic to smoking and if anyone smokes especially in a confined place in my presence for sure I get sick and start vomiting though it is not so severe if I'm in an open place. Especially on trains many people are already battling travel sickness and smoking will remove the last straw from them and they will be throwing up all over the place and reach their destinations in sick conditions

 

[AndrewJin]

First time fine and 15 days custody, second time life long ban and sue for crimes against pubic security.

 

[Beast]

.
I understand he has been caught twice.

However, for those who are addicted to tobacco it is also difficult to kick the habit.

There should have an ever increasing scale of fine, especially if the HSR service is disrupted.

For example, the first time is RMB 1000, the second time is RMB 2000 and so forth.


.
If they smoke, punish them severely.

RMB 2000? It shall be RMB 50000. This will teach him a lesson never smoke again inside HSR. The whole train stop and delayed just becos of this idiot? Who is going to compensate the 2200 passengers and train staff for delay of the trip?

 

[AndrewJin]

RMB 2000? It shall be RMB 50000. This will teach him a lesson never smoke again inside HSR. The whole train stop and delayed just becos of this idiot? Who is going to compensate the 2200 passengers and train staff for delay of the trip?

He should pay for the entire trip, 1000 yuan for every passenger, and several months in jail.
Second time, life long ban, and years of jail.