Official urges public's help in Beijing anti-smoking drive

Though Beijing has outlawed indoor smoking in public spaces, the public remains skeptical that the latest smoking ban will be enforced.

In November, the Beijing municipal legislature passed an anti-smoking bill banning smoking in all indoor public places, workplaces, and on public transportation. It is scheduled to take effect in June 2015.

But doubts about the feasibility of the regulation have been climbing, as smokers are still seen puffing away in restaurants, schools and other public spaces in the capital city, despite previous smoking bans in these places.

In response to the public's suspicions, Zhong Dongbo, deputy head of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning Commission, said that the local government will increase law-enforcement teams and launch tip-off hotlines to make sure the new regulation is implemented effectively.

"Local departments will take measures when illegal smoking is reported, and reports from the public and how these reports are handled will be recorded," Zhong said.

Zhong added that including the public in the reporting system will help the municipal government's anti-smoking push.

"Not only our commission, but also tobacco departments, education authorities and public security staff should all bear legal responsibility to contain public smoking," Zhong said.

China is home to over 300 million smokers, with more than one million people dying as a result of tobacco-related illness a year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The country signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003, which went into effect in 2006. According to the FCTC, China should have banned smoking in indoor public areas completely by 2011. Endi