Smoking ban takes effect in Beijing restaurants

One month after Beijing introduced its tough smoking ban, many restaurants are successfully preventing customers from lighting up, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday.

Beijing's ban, which has been in effect since June 1, prohibits smoking in all indoor public places, workplaces, and on public transportation.

An investigation, which involved 176 restaurants in Dongcheng and Chaoyang districts between June 26 to 29 by the center's Tobacco Control Office, discovered smoking at 26 restaurants, about 14.8 percent of all those surveyed, compared to 38.1 percent in an investigation at the same establishments in May.

It was also found that 82.4 percent of the restaurants were displaying anti-smoking notices, up from 52.3 percent in May.

Xiao Lin, associate professor with the office, said: "There has been an obvious decrease in smoking in the public areas of the restaurants, but little has changed in the wash rooms."

The investigation found that 10.8 percent of toilets were being used by people to smoke at the end of June, compared to 14.2 percent in May.

Law enforcement personnel and restaurant owners should pay more attention to the toilets, perhaps by installing smoke detectors, she said. Endi