Indoor smoking rooms are to be allowed at companies or factories where naked flames are banned outdoors, and in unspecified restricted places where there are security concerns, the Shanghai People's Congress said yesterday. Smoking indoors as part of a stage performance would also be allowed, according to a draft regulation.
Otherwise, the city's smoking ban is to be extended to all indoor public venues, including hotels, restaurants, offices, airports and public transport, the city's legislative body said. These stricter rules will be further evaluated and revised but are expected to come into force before the city hosts the 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion — an event co-organized by the World Health Organization — in November.
"The amended regulation aims to better protect the public from second-hand smoke, but also needs to take into the feasibility of the rules into consideration," city legislator Lin Huabin said yesterday.
He said companies setting up indoor smoking rooms would have to get prior approval from the city's health and family planning commission. They must have separate ventilation facilities and be isolated from non-smoking areas.
Other venues can have outdoor smoking areas, except public venues for minors, such as primary schools, kindergartens and training institutes, children's hospitals, historic venues, stadiums and public transport waiting areas.
Outdoor smoking areas must be away from the public and have signs saying "Smoking is harmful to health," Lin said. They will also have to be approved by the city's fire prevention authority.
City and district governments will have the right to set up temporary non-smoking areas, according to the draft bill.
The current regulation, which was introduced in 2009 ahead of the World Expo in 2010, stipulates that star-rated hotels, restaurants, airports, railway stations and ferry terminals can set up smoking areas or smoking rooms and hotels are allowed to have designated smoking rooms.
Fines for breaking the new laws are unchanged at 50-200 yuan (US$7.49-US$30) for individuals and up to 30,000 yuan for companies.
The public will be encouraged to report any violations of the new rules by sending pictures to hotline 12345.
Two surveys earlier this year, by the city's health commission and the legislative body, found over 90 percent of the public supporting a ban on smoking indoors.
