According to a recent survey conducted by Shanghai’s Health and Family Planning Commission, both the smoking rate and second-hand exposure rate of the city have improved, as reported by Shine.
May 31 was the 31st annual World No Tobacco Day. The commission marked the occasion with a series of activities to advocate non-smoking and promote the city’s latest smoking ban. They also used the event to announce the survey results.
Image via Kankanews
The findings revealed that from 2016 to 2017, the number of citizens aged 15 and above who were smokers had dropped from 21 percent to 20.2 percent. Furthermore, 38.4 percent of male residents are smokers, while the figure for female residents was much less at 0.8 percent.
The rate of second-hand smoke exposure has also reduced. It was reported that this figure dropped from 58.5 percent in 2016 to 50.6 percent in 2017.
The smoking rate improvement may be the result of the Regulation on Smoke-Control in Public, introduced in March 2017. Implemented by the Standing Committee of the Shanghai People's Congress, the regulation prohibits smoking in all non-private indoor spaces and specific outdoor spaces including schools, sporting venues and bus stops. Any attempt to violate the rule will incur a fine of RMB50-200.
Image via Flickr
Until the first quarter of this year, there have been 291 venues, along with 198 individuals fined for violating the regulation, with their collective penalties reaching over 650 thousand yuan, as reported by Kankanews.
In regards to additional plans, the law enforcement department advised the Paper they will continue to focus their attention on office buildings and restaurants, where the situation of illegal smoking is still severe.
[Top Image via Eastday]
