Public space | CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

11/04/2014

Beijing seeks to ban purchase of cigarettes with public funds | Reuters

Good news for Chinese health, bad news for the cigarette industry.

“China’s capital Beijing is proposing to ban the use of government money to buy cigarettes, either as gifts or to be provided at official functions, state media said on Friday, in the latest move to try and curtail smoking.

China, home to some 300 million smokers, is the world’s largest consumer of tobacco, and smoking is a ubiquitous part of social life, particularly for men. Cartons of cigarettes are commonly given as presents or provided at formal events.

The Beijing government rules, currently in the proposal stage, would ban cigarettes being provided or given at any official event, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The rules also seek a ban on promotional sales activities or advertising for cigarettes and a ban on smoking in public places like train stations, hospitals and schools, with fines of up to 200 yuan ($32), the report said.

Beijing, along with other parts of China, already bans smoking in many public places, though the rules are generally ignored.

Xinhua did not say when the new rules may go into effect.

Tougher regulation of smoking is a priority this year, officials from the National Health and Family Planning Commission said in January, adding that the agency was pushing lawmakers to toughen laws on tobacco use.

The ruling Communist Party said last year that officials must not light up in schools, workplaces, stadiums, and on public transport, among other places, so as to set a positive example.

($1 = 6.2125 Chinese yuan)”

via Beijing seeks to ban purchase of cigarettes with public funds | Reuters.

Luxury cigarette prices fall after Beijing ban

Posted in China alert, Economics, Good news, Health | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, Beijing government, China, Cigarette, cigarettes, communist party of china, Public space

08/01/2014

China aims to ban smoking in public places by end of the year | Reuters

China aims to impose a nationwide ban on smoking in public places this year, as authorities move to stamp out a widespread practice that has taken a severe toll on citizens\’ health.

China, home to some 300 million smokers, is the world\’s largest consumer of tobacco, and smoking is a ubiquitous part of social life, particularly for men.

Tougher regulation of smoking is a priority this year, officials from the National Health and Family Planning Commission said this week, adding that the agency was pushing lawmakers to toughen laws on tobacco use.

\”Compared to the damage to health that smoking causes, tobacco\’s economic benefits are trivial,\” Mao Qun\’an, a spokesman for the commission, told a news conference on Tuesday.

The drumbeat to reduce tobacco use has grown steadily louder in the past few years, but experts say China\’s powerful tobacco industry, which has resisted raising cigarette prices and use of health warnings on cigarette packs, has been a tough opponent.

The nationwide smoking ban has long been in the works. Several cities have banned smoking in public places, but enforcement has been lax.

Beijing pledged in 2008 to prohibit smoking in most public venues, including government offices, but no-smoking signs are frequently ignored.

Steps recommended by the commission range from beefing up education on the dangers of tobacco to banning smoking in schools and hospitals.

An official in the tobacco control office of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said in December that lawmakers would consider the nationwide ban on smoking in public places this year.

The commission\’s statement follows a government circular urging Communist Party cadres and government officials not to light up in schools, workplaces, stadiums, and on public transport, among other places, so as to set a positive example.

via China aims to ban smoking in public places by end of the year | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, Economics, Good news, Health, smoking, Social & cultural | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, China, communist party of china, Family planning, No Smoking, Public space, Tobacco, Tobacco smoking

29/12/2013

Chinese officials banned from smoking in public – Xinhua | English.news.cn

Chinese officials are asked to \”take the lead\” in adhering to the smoking ban in public spaces.

The No Smoking sign, designed by one of the members of AIGA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to a circular from the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, officials are not allowed to smoke in schools, hospitals, sports venues, public transport vehicles, or any other venues where smoking is banned.

Government functionaries are prohibited from using public funds to buy cigarettes, nor are they permitted to smoke or offer cigarettes when performing official duties, the circular notes.

\”Smoking remains a relatively universal phenomenon in public venues. Some officials smoke in public places, which does not only jeopardized the environment and public health, but tarnished the image of Party and government offices and leaders and has a negative influence,\” reads the circular.

The sale of tobacco products and advertisements will no longer be allowed in Party and government offices. Prominent notices of smoking bans must be displayed in meeting rooms, reception offices, passageways, cafeterias and rest rooms.

China is the world\’s largest cigarette producer and consumer. The number of smokers exceeds 300 million, with at least 740 million nonsmokers regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.

In 2003, China signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and it became effective in January 2006. The FCTC requires a reduction in tobacco supply as well as consumption. The 12th Five-Year plan (2011-2015) promised to ban smoking in public places.

Experts are widely critical of the current government effort, which lags far behind the FCTC standard, and no national law is yet in place banning smoking in indoor public places.

via Chinese officials banned from smoking in public – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

Posted in China alert, Health, Internal politics, Politics, smoking, Social & cultural | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Communist Party of China Central Committee, Five-year plans of the People's Republic of China, Public space, Smoking ban, State Council of the People's Republic of China, World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

02/01/2013

* The Word From Beijing: Thank You for Not Smoking

WSJ: “China’s government has a New Year’s resolution: to stamp out smoking.

Leaders aim to reduce smokers to 25% of the population by 2015, down from 28% in 2010, according to a smoking-cessation plan the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published recently. The work of the ministries of health, finance and foreign affairs, as well as the administrations of tobacco, safety, customs, industry and commerce, it plots moves to ban smoking in public places and end ads and sponsorships by tobacco companies.

China is home to 300 million smokers, a quarter of the world total, and they burn up a third of the world’s cigarettes, according to a study from the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

The stub-smoking initiative comes weeks after World Health Organization officials urged China’s government to reduce smoking rates by at least 30% by 2025 through programs teaching that habits such as tobacco use and excessive salt intake can lead to chronic diseases and early death.

Smoking-related sicknesses kill more than one million Chinese citizens each year, according to the WHO, and smoking contributes to the country’s high rates of chronic disease—which accounts for 80% of deaths and 70% of health expenditure.

Critics of China’s tobacco plan say enforcement details are lacking. A smoking ban in public places such as hotels and restaurants, announced in 2011, has been only loosely applied.

“Apart from the legal codes legislated by various local governments on banning smoking and installing ‘no smoking’ signs in public places, there are hardly any specific rules to enforce the ban,” an editorial in the state-owned China Daily said, adding, “Besides, very few smokers have received due punishment violating the ban.” The editorial also notes that cigarette packages lack graphic health warnings—which in other parts of the world can include gruesome images.

Beijing has said long said it is determined to tackle the country’s smoking problem, but so far has had little success. Cigarettes remain cheap—available for less than $1 for a pack, according to the WHO, which recommended last year that China triple its tobacco tax to 70% to discourage young would-be smokers from buying.”

via The Word From Beijing: Thank You for Not Smoking – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

New study shows: more smoking bans and taxes lead to fewer smoking-related deaths (smartsign.com)
The Hazy History of Smoking Bans (smokingsigns.com)

Posted in China alert, Economics, Politics, smoking, Social & cultural | 1 Comment »

Tags: Brookings Institution, China, health, New Year's resolution, Public space, Smoking ban, Tobacco smoking, World Health Organization

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