www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

Harbin to ban smoking in restaurants

Updated: 2012-02-22 20:34

(Xinhua)

  Comments() Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

HARBIN - Harbin is the first Chinese city set to completely ban smoking in restaurants, health experts said Wednesday. The legislation is expected to be enacted in May.

The city's top health official told Xinhua the legislation provides a grace period for restaurants and hotels to implement the new ban. Smoking in other enclosed public spaces will be banned as soon as the new law is enacted.

"It will take another six to twelve months before all restaurants and hotels in Harbin go smoke free," said Mu Ying, head of the municipal health bureau. "It is a very difficult ban considering the smoking prevalence here and there is no precedent in the country for us to follow."

The regulation says restaurant owners can be fined up to 30,000 yuan ($4,800) for failure to comply, depending on the seriousness of the violation, Mu said.

China has 300 million smokers -- the highest number of any country in the world. Health experts estimate about 740 million people are exposed to second-hand smoke since Chinese smokers have traditionally lit up almost anywhere they want.

Smoking prevalence does not vary much by city, health experts say, adding that in Harbin about half of adult men and five percent of women smoke.

Since 2008, some large cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have enacted regulations banning smoking in some locations, but none have completely banned smoking in restaurants, health officials and experts said.

"An absolute smoking ban in restaurants is a landmark," said Yang Gonghuan, a veteran tobacco control expert with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC).

She said Harbin has come closest to the spirit of the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a treaty China signed in 2003 but has been slow to implement.

A smoking ban in the hospitality sector can prove extremely difficult. Managers of hotels and restaurants in Harbin that have already tried to institute a smoking ban have expressed frustration.

"We no longer provide ash trays in hotel rooms but often end up with holes burnt in the carpet by discarded cigarette butts," said a manager surnamed Sun, who works at the downtown Madieer Hotel.

The hotel, built in 1906 by Jews from Russia, is among a dozen high-end hotels and restaurants on Harbin's Russian-style Central Street to volunteer to go smoke-free this January in advance of the formal ban.

Harbin, located just south of Russia's Siberia in China's Heilongjiang Province, is also known as China's "Ice City" for its frigid winter. A smoking ban in indoor public places means smokers will have to puff outdoors when temperatures often hover around minus 20 degrees Celsius.

"We can only kindly advise our guests to smoke outside. But if they refuse, there is little we can do about it," said Sun.

Health officials said they have started to run workshops for people in the city's hospitality industry to prepare for the ban. They have also ramped up publicity campaigns to get the "no smoking" message across to the public.

Harbin is among seven Chinese cities included in a tobacco-free environmental promotion program jointly launched by the China CDC and the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (UNION) in 2010 to promote local anti-smoking legislation, said Yang, who used to serve as the China CDC's deputy director in charge of tobacco control. She said local anti-smoking rules are expected to pave the way for drafting a national tobacco control law.

Nanchang, another city in the program, was set to implement a smoking ban in restaurants, bars, and other entertainment venues in 2013. But the plan has been delayed until 2015 after lawmakers blocked the passage of the smoking ban, due to its tough wording.

Yang said she is confident the Harbin ban will be effectively enforced since it encourages individuals to report violations to city health authorities and other authorities. The ban calls for various sanctions, including warnings, publicizing infractions in order to shame violators, and also heavy fines.

Cris Tunon, a tobacco-free initiative officer with the WHO China Representative Office, said the experience of cities like New York, London, and Mexico City shows a high rate of compliance with anti-smoking regulations within a year of implementation, particularly in the hospitality and entertainment industries. He said there is no evidence the ban negatively affects their business.

Tunon said Harbin's tobacco-free legislation has set a good example not only for cities in China but also all countries in the region. He said it would be useful to document progress in enforcement and share it with other cities planning to adopt such a ban.

Related Stories

Smoking ban expected by Beijing 2012-02-16 16:58
Enforce ban on smoking 2011-12-09 08:41
Indoor smoking ban ignored 2011-06-07 11:31
Smoking banned at Beijing airport 2011-06-01 09:52
主站蜘蛛池模板: 一级视频免费观看 | 成人网18免费网 | 99久久香蕉国产线看观香 | 成年女人aaaaa毛片 | 亚洲视频免费观看 | 在线中文字幕一区 | 看一级特黄a大片日本片 | 一级国产精品一级国产精品片 | 亚洲国产精品综合久久 | 久久视频这里只有精品 | 中国美女隐私无遮挡免费视频 | 精品在线免费观看 | 亚洲va精品中文字幕动漫 | 国产v综合v亚洲欧美大另类 | 国产精品成人观看视频网站 | 国产黄毛片 | 99九九精品免费视频观看 | 九九99久麻豆精品视传媒 | 国产初高中生粉嫩无套第一次 | 深夜福利爽爽爽动态图 | 亚洲精品免费网站 | 成人a毛片在线看免费全部播放 | 亚洲精品不卡久久久久久 | 欧美成人性色区 | 中文字幕在线视频网站 | 日韩三级视频在线观看 | 久久精品久久久 | 美女网站色免费 | 国产精品私人玩物在线观看 | 日韩精品999| 巨大热杵在腿间进进出出视频 | 步兵精品手机在线观看 | 国产欧美日韩精品一区二区三区 | 国产高清在线免费视频 | 久久久久免费精品国产 | 天堂中文资源在线8 | 欧美一级片a | 亚洲成人在线视频网站 | 日本色综合网 | 国产欧美日韩亚洲 | 艹美女视频 |