No Smoking Inside the Building of the Health Officials, Beijing

Starting with May 31st smoking will no longer be permitted inside the building of the Ministry of Health because of the indoors smoking ban approved in Beijing.

A working group conducted by Health Minister Chen Zhu decided to implement the ban inside the 19 building. But Yang Qing, a director of the ministry declared: “The latest action is really a part of the goal announced beforehand to prohibit smoking indoors at health institutions and administrations nationwide by the end of the year 2011.” These all discussions about banning smoking in all working places started because a recent study found that almost more than half of Chinese male doctors continue to smoke.

When the new legislation will be approved, then except educational measures like posters inside the building, those caught violating the latest ban will be punished and violators might not get high status.

“Of course only the new anti-smoking steps will work well toward the goal, inside the medical sectors,” said Wu Yiqun, representative director of the anti-smoking advocacy group Thinktank.

Unfortunately unsuccessful steps were implemented for to enforce a nationwide smoking ban in public places, till now. Statistics show that in general China has 350 million smokers and approximately 540 million non-smokers are exposed to second-hand smoke.

And of course in every year smoking-related diseases kill at least 1 million people, added health officials. Even though China joined in global anti-smoking efforts starting with 2005, smoking continue to be the main state problem. So, all member countries are obliged to launch a complete ban on tobacco in public places starting with 2011. “They all have regulations prohibiting indoor smoking in all public places and act consequently and more severe,” declared Jiang Yuan, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s tobacco control office.

Due to anxiety about tax benefits and the income of tobacco farmers, China has yet to implement a nationwide law or regulation on tobacco and smoking, health officials declared.

Researchers concluded that in spite of regional indoor smoking bans implemented in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, smoking is largely permitted at places like restaurants, bars and even meeting rooms because of poor realization and not strict supervision.