On the 10th day of july 10th, beijing, the china tobacco control association (journalist li hae-soo) issued two circulars for the association to collect, through social media, “photos of public officials smoking in the workplace and indoor public places, with respect to smoking”, on 21 january - 30 april 2014, for 100 days. At the same time, beijing city officials were publicly asked for proposals and suggestions for amendments to the beijing city tobacco control regulations。
On 29 december 2013, the central office of the communist party and the office of the state council jointly issued a circular on smoking-related matters involving leading cadres in public places, the spirit of which has been carefully implemented in all regions. The circular was transmitted to the autonomous regions of jilin, anhui, hubei, shandong, guizhou, yunnan and inner mongolia; the health sector issued communications in beijing, gansu, sichuan, chongqing, xinjiang, liaoning, fujian, jiangsu and hebei provinces and autonomous regions; other initiatives and presentations were carried out in the form of guangdong, tianjin, shuxi, zhejiang, ningxia, shanghai, hainan, jiangxig 8 prefectures and autonomous regions; the network was neither searched nor interviewed by telephone, nor informed by the persons concerned; and the seven prefectures of guangxi, henan, heilongangjiang, south, qinghai, west and tibet。
In order to obtain information on the implementation of the two circulars in various regions, the chinese association for tobacco control collected photographs of public officials, especially leading cadres, who smoked and respected smoking in the workplace and in indoor public places over a total period of 100 days, from 21 january to 30 april 2014. The results show a marked improvement in the non-smoking of public places by senior officials following the issuance of the two circulars, but it is found that a small number of senior officials are still smoking in the workplace and in public places, despite the central “no-smoking order”, which is detrimental to the image of public officials。
In addition, the beijing city tobacco control ordinance, which provides for a complete ban on smoking in public places, indoor areas in the workplace and public transport, has been publicly consulted and is largely in line with the requirements of the who framework convention on tobacco control. However, the prohibition on tobacco promotion and sponsorship, and the scope of the ban on smoking in public places outside certain regions remain inadequate. The association recommended to the beijing municipal authorities that the beijing municipal regulation on tobacco control, to be adopted by the people's congress, be fully in line with the spirit of the convention, and that beijing, as the national political, economic and cultural centre, provide a window for the international community to present china's image and develop a smoke control code consistent with the convention, which should lead nationally and provide lessons learned and experience for national legislation。
The association made the following recommendations:
1 expansion of the outdoor prohibition of smoking: for example, in the sports stadium audience and competition areas, public transport stations, train stations and metro entrances within 15 metres. Because the public is heavily staffed while waiting for a bus, and because older people and children are more numerous, it is impossible to avoid the hazards of this site and tobacco smoke。
Add a ban on all forms of tobacco promotion and sponsorship。
3 add a clause prohibiting tobacco advertising at tobacco outlets。
4 it is recommended that article 16, “promoting civilized smoking”, be deleted. Because smoking itself is an uncivil act。
5 it is recommended that the tobacco monopoly should be removed from its duty to carry out administrative penalties in the context of tobacco control regulations, as the who framework convention on tobacco control clearly states “to prevent public health policies related to tobacco control from being affected by commercial and other vested interests in the tobacco industry”。
It is recommended that the provisions of the hong kong sar and shenzhen city be used to include provisions for the intervention of the public security and judicial authorities in cases of obstruction of law enforcement by the health administration。
7. Increased penalties for violations. The association considers that the penalties imposed on legal persons are small enough to deter offenders from breaking the law。
The vice-president of the chinese association for tobacco control, xu guihua, said that, following the two circulars, they had been transmitted and implemented in earnest, and that there had been a good pattern of smoking control throughout the country. In particular, during this year's two sessions, the prohibition of indoor smoking, ashtrays and delivery of tobacco was explicitly established in many places. At the same time, the creation of smoke-free units has been carried out in various regions to implement the two-pronged approach. Both notifications have become an opportunity to promote smoke control in china and represent a milestone in its history of smoking control. However, it should also be clear that there are still a few provinces that do not transmit notifications or other forms of implementation。
