Smoking control around schools still has hidden corners

Hidden in the "small drawer" is the cigarette specialization "Half-size"

　　After repeated appeals from this newspaper and the tobacco control department, and with the joint efforts of all sectors of society, the smoking problem in front of campus, which has attracted much attention from students and parents, has significantly improved.

On January 5, 2024, the Beijing Tobacco Control Association released the latest survey results showing that there are still pain points that need to be resolved in the work related to protecting minors from the harm of tobacco.

According to the "Beijing Regulations on Smoking Control", it is prohibited to set up tobacco product sales outlets within 100 meters of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, children's palaces and their surrounding areas.

However, our reporter discovered during actual investigation that cigarette points are still sold within 100 meters of many schools in this city.

　　The reporter visited and found that in addition to easy-to-monitor cigarette sales points around the campus, there are also many "small drawers" that should not sell tobacco.

This newspaper and the Beijing Tobacco Control Association jointly call on relevant departments to increase random inspections, further standardize tobacco sales, and eliminate hidden cigarette sales spots around campuses.

Changes: There are obviously fewer people smoking in front of the school gate.

　　The issue of smoking in front of campus has always been of concern to students and parents.

With the help of their teachers, students from Beijing Guangming Primary School completed a survey report through systematic research and submitted "Suggestions on Improving the Requirements for the Use of the Beijing Smoking Control Regulations in Areas Surrounding Schools" to relevant departments.

After continuous improvement, this "Suggestion" has won the district-level and municipal-level scientific suggestion awards for primary and secondary school students.

　　May 31, 2023 is the 36th World No Tobacco Day.

In conjunction with the World No Tobacco Day theme of "Smoke-free protects growth", this newspaper, together with the Beijing Tobacco Control Association and relevant departments, launched an initiative to create a smoke-free waiting area in front of the school gate, so that all sectors of society can work together to realize the dreams of children.

While issuing the joint initiative, this newspaper also extensively collected citizens’ suggestions through the @Beijing Minsheng Weibo platform, and jointly completed the anti-smoking signs and slogans in front of the campus with the Beijing Tobacco Control Association.

The new logos and slogans have been vigorously promoted in primary and secondary schools across the city, with a total of more than 40,000 copies distributed.

As of October 2023, the survey results show that compared with the first half of the year, the smoking problem in front of the school gate has improved, and the proportion of smokers at the school gate has dropped from 69.44% to 30.50%.

　　During the return visit, the reporter saw that many parents would take the initiative to avoid the school gate area when smoking. Some school security personnel were more daring to stop smoking in front of the school gate, and parents were more cooperative.

Many parents said that the smoking problem in front of the school has indeed improved significantly.

Visited the cigarette spots around campus that still exist.

　　At the end of 2023, the Beijing Tobacco Control Association mobilized 100 volunteers to conduct a new round of tobacco control surveys in 7 districts, including Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai, Shijingshan and Daxing, and was conducted by Li Xingming's team from the School of Public Health of Capital Medical University A detailed statistical analysis was conducted, and the results showed that there are differences in the tobacco control work of various districts. Among them, the issue of whether there are smoking spots (including e-cigarettes) sold 100 meters around the campus has great differences in the effectiveness of the work of each district.

　　In response to this problem, since January 2024, reporters have once again made multiple visits to investigate the cigarette sales situation around the school.

On January 9, the reporter came to Beijing No. 65 Middle School and crossed Beiheyan Street and Donghuang Chenggennan Street in front of the east gate of the school. A supermarket was almost directly opposite the school gate.

Looking east from the school gate, you can clearly see the cigarette packs of various colors stacked like a city wall in the supermarket glass window.

The supermarket plaque introduces the products on sale, and the first item is cigarettes.

On the same day, the reporter also visited Beijing No. 2 Experimental Primary School (Desheng Campus) located on Dewai Street. A supermarket selling cigarettes and the school playground are separated by Ande Road.

In Fengtai, some schools even have more than one cigarette sales point.

On the official website of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, there is a "picture of illegal cigarette sales around schools."

The problem points discovered by the Municipal Tobacco Control Association in previous inspections will be marked on this map.

The map shows that during previous inspections, three cigarette outlets were found within 100 meters of a school in Fengtai District.

　　According to Article 20 of the "Beijing Smoking Control Regulations", the sale of tobacco products is prohibited in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, children's palaces and within 100 meters of their surroundings.

Statistics show that many cigarette selling spots around schools are not only too close to the school, but even appear on the roads that students must pass to and from school.

Some canteens and supermarkets on these roads are places where children often go to buy stationery and snacks. In areas where minors gather, the cigarette counters are particularly eye-catching.

Asking how to define "100 meters around the campus"

　　During the visit that lasted for half a month, the reporter noticed a phenomenon. When comparing the statistical results of tobacco control volunteers, when looking for cigarette sales spots around some schools, the reporter’s survey results were not completely consistent with the volunteers’ survey results.

　　The reporter learned from the relevant person in charge of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association that the current measurement method to determine whether the cigarette sales point is too close to the school is not to use the side wall of the school as the starting point to radiate the surrounding 100 meters, but to use the center point of the campus gate as the starting point. The starting point radiates 100 meters around the school gate.

Therefore, even if the tobacco store is almost next to the school wall, if it is more than 100 meters from the center of the school gate, it will be difficult to determine the violation.

　　Zhang Jianshu, president of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, told reporters that the current measurement method was finally formulated by the relevant parties based on various considerations.

As early as 2015, the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a sample survey on the situation of cigarette sales points around campuses. At that time, 398 schools were involved, and a base number was obtained.

Since then, this measurement method has been used in surveys of relevant issues in various departments over the years to facilitate data comparison.

　　According to this measurement method, many cigarette sales spots around schools seem to be in a "grey area."

For example, although the cigarette sales point and Beijing No. 2 Experimental Primary School (Desheng Campus) are only separated by one street from the north to the south, the school's gate opens to the east, so the distance between the two is "widened."

Are there any drawbacks to this way of determination?

Although some smoking spots are located a hundred meters away from the school gate, they are still very close to the school and are places frequented by students. How should these smoking spots be managed?

For another example, some schools have more than one school gate. Which school gate should be used for measurement?

If the location of the school gate changes, will the commercial institutions on the street also have to adjust accordingly?

　　Zhang Jianshu said frankly that in recent years, there has been controversy between the "tobacco control community" and the "cigarette sales community" regarding the determination method of "100 meters around campus", and it can even be said that they have been playing games.

Is it 100 meters in a straight line or 100 meters in walking distance?

Should we change this requirement from distance to within sight of the school... These questions have been raised before.

In order to protect minors from the harm of tobacco, relevant laws and regulations will continue to be improved based on the actual situation.

“In the final analysis, controlling the distance between tobacco sales points and campuses is not the only way to protect minors from the harm of tobacco. In the Beijing Smoking Control Regulations, tobacco product sellers are clearly prohibited from selling tobacco products to minors. This is That’s the core.”

Investigate the "small drawer" hidden in the dark for selling cigarettes

　　So, can cigarette sales outlets keep the "gate" of not selling cigarettes to minors?

Reporters who visited many supermarkets in this city found that tobacco control work is basically in place. Even if self-checkout services are provided, tobacco products are placed in locked glass cabinets, and there are reminders on the cabinets not to sell cigarettes to minors. , if you want to buy cigarettes, you still have to go through the salesperson first.

But as the investigation deepened, reporters found that loopholes still existed.

　　Combing through the data on tobacco control over the years, the reporter found that, taking the third city-wide youth tobacco epidemic monitoring results released by the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other units as an example, in the survey data on the availability of tobacco products, in 2021, middle school students in the city bought tobacco products due to their young age. The proportion of cigarettes being refused was 28.7%, of which 47.5% were among junior high school students, while only 18.3% among high school students were refused.

The reporter asked many cigarette sales points and school teachers about the situation and found the reasons for the discrepancy in the data.

　　"'Children' are the most difficult to control." Some merchants admitted that they knew the rules prohibiting selling cigarettes to minors, but if a child of sixteen or seventeen comes to buy cigarettes, if he is not wearing a school uniform, he must grow a mustache. , it is difficult to judge whether it is an adult.

“Sometimes I’m so busy that I don’t have time to verify my age. There’s a queue behind me to check out.”

　　A middle school teacher told reporters about his personal experience in 2022.

At that time, he was teaching the graduating class of high school and found a boy in his class smoking at the school gate.

The student argued that he got the cigarette from his father, but after contacting the student's parents, he learned that none of the student's parents had a smoking habit.

Later, I learned that the reason why the child did not tell the truth was that he was afraid that the "hidden" cigarette selling spots around the school would be reported, and he would have no place to buy cigarettes in the future.

"Later, I accidentally discovered that there was a newsstand near the school. It not only sold books, newspapers and magazines, but also drinks and food. I went to ask if there were cigarettes. As a result, the merchant pulled out a small drawer from under the newsstand, which was full of books and newsstands. Cigarettes. Only then did I realize that such a 'small drawer' is difficult to monitor."

　　Based on the clues provided by the teacher, the reporter launched a new round of research and found that the "small drawers" he mentioned are indeed common, among which the "small drawers" in newsstands, breakfast carts, and vegetable stations are the most common.

These cigarette sales points are hidden in dark places, and the awareness of not selling cigarettes to minors is certainly out of the question.

　　There is a vegetable and fruit supermarket within 100 meters of Dongtiejianying No. 2 Primary School in Fengtai District. Apparently, the products sold here do not include cigarettes.

"Do you have cigarettes here?" someone asked among the shopping crowd.

Following the shop owner to the back of the fruit shelf, the reporter saw that there was a "unique cave" here.

It turned out that in addition to the brackets, there were many hollow parts at the bottom of the shelf. The shop owner opened the curtain that covered the shelf and pulled out a "small drawer" from the bottom, which was filled with all kinds of cigarettes.

　　In this regard, this newspaper and the Beijing Tobacco Control Association jointly called on relevant departments to increase random inspections and further standardize tobacco sales.

Relevant parties must not only supervise the legal cigarette sales points that are "standing in the open", but also be good at discovering the "small drawers" hidden in the dark for selling cigarettes on the market, cut off the source of tobacco for minors, and let them further "connect with tobacco products". insulation".

(Beijing Daily reporter Jing Yiming and Chen Shengyu)