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01st Jun 2015

No smoke without fine: Beijing puffs up tobacco laws

Ash monies...

Tom Victor

Workers in China’s capital could see their earnings disappear in a puff of smoke if they light up in public, thanks to tough new rules…

Under new Beijing legislation, smoking in restaurants or buses could cost offenders fines of up to 200 Yuan (about £20), more than 10 times the minimum hourly wage.

And if that wasn’t enough, repeat offenders will be named and shamed online.

According to NBC News, some 1,000 inspectors have been out and about in the streets of Beijing to enforce the crackdown, whilst huge no smoking signs have been put up around the city.

It remains to be seen whether the action will help stub out China’s smoking culture, which the World Health Organisation understands affects more than half of the country’s adult male population.

Topics:

Asia,China,Smoking