Xinhua All Media+丨Why is it difficult to prohibit random “swallowing clouds and fog” in public places?

  Xinhua News Agency, Changsha, May 30 -

Title: public places are free "puff" Why ban hard?

  Xinhua News Agency reporters Shuai Cai and Dong Xiaohong

  May 31st is "World No Tobacco Day".

The reporter's investigation learned that, at present, many people still believe that smoking in indoor public places is "a matter of course", and that exposure to second-hand smoke is a serious hazard to the health of pregnant women and children.

Although tobacco control legislation has been implemented in many places across the country for many years, the effectiveness of tobacco control is not optimistic. In some places, tobacco control in indoor public places is even "useless" and has become a dead letter.

Smokers in public places "sweep the clouds and vomit fog" Exposure of second-hand smoke threatens health

  The reporter's recent investigation found that many people think that smoking in indoor public places is "a matter of course."

"I smoke a cigarette myself, and it doesn't interfere with others. What does it matter?" In a teahouse in Chengdu, the reporter randomly asked a few smokers who were "suffering". Most of them felt that smoking in indoor public places was very difficult. normal.

  "Second-hand smoke is very harmful. Children who have inhaled second-hand smoke for a long time are more susceptible to cold, bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchial asthma and other respiratory diseases than their peers, and their physical development is relatively slow." said Tang Yongjun, a respiratory physician at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University.

  "Tobacco contains harmful elements such as carbon monoxide, nicotine, and tar. Long-term heavy smoking can easily damage the bronchial and alveolar walls, cause the body's immunity to decline, and easily cause many diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary heart disease." Hunan Provincial Chest Hospital Chang Tang Xiliang told reporters that second-hand smoke is also harmful to women. Long-term exposure to second-hand smoke can cause menstrual disorders, low estrogen, and osteoporosis in women, endangering the health of pregnant women and fetuses, and serious Cervical cancer, uterine cancer and many other diseases.

Lack of law, difficulty in implementation, and weak enforcement of smoking bans in indoor public places, a long way to go

  The reporter's investigation learned that although legislation to control tobacco has been implemented in many parts of the country for many years, the effectiveness of tobacco control is not optimistic. Some indoor public places smoke control "it is useless", and more and more women and children are suffering from the harm of second-hand smoke.

  ——The top-level design is still incomplete.

The reporter learned that in March 2011, the revised "Regulations for the Implementation of Sanitation Management Regulations in Public Places" added regulations such as "No smoking in indoor public places".

According to regulations, operators of public places should set up eye-catching no-smoking warnings and signs. Smoking areas set up in outdoor public places must not be located in passageways that pedestrians must pass. Public places must not set up vending machines. Operators of public places should start smoking. Propaganda that is harmful to health, and allocate full-time (part-time) personnel to discourage smokers.

  Although there are relevant regulations, the current top-level design is still imperfect.

According to Liu Junhai, a professor at the School of Law of Renmin University of China, there has not been a targeted national law on smoking control and smoking in public places, and the law still has not fully realized saying "no" to smokers in public places.

  ——It is difficult to implement local tobacco control and smoking ban laws.

The reporter learned that in recent years, some cities have introduced local smoking control and smoking ban laws in public places, but the enforcement is difficult to guarantee; the local laws and regulations on tobacco control and smoking bans in many cities are still on the way.

For example, the "Regulations on Smoking Control in Public Places in Chengdu (Revised Draft)" (draft for comments) stipulates that citizens who smoke in no-smoking places can be fined up to 200 yuan; unit operators and managers who violate relevant regulations will face a maximum of 20,000 yuan Yuan fine.

However, this smoking control regulation began to publicly solicit opinions from the society in May 2019, and it has not yet been formally implemented.

  "If local governments lack effective exploration, national laws will be difficult to promulgate." Liu Junhai said.

  ——The main body of law enforcement at the grassroots level is unknown, and law enforcement is weak.

"At present, many places have not clearly defined which department is responsible for smoking ban and tobacco control in public places, who has the right to enforce the law, and how to deal with it. It is also difficult for the grassroots to deal with it." Mediation to resolve.

Call for national-level anti-smoking legislation to speed up comprehensive tobacco control

  Tang Xiliang suggested that with the increase in public health awareness, a smoke-free environment in public places has gradually become a social consensus, and it is urgent to strengthen tobacco control in all aspects.

  Liu Junhai urged that national legislation on tobacco control in public places should be implemented as soon as possible, and publicity should be increased to promote tobacco harm to health. Government departments can set up a hotline for reporting violations of tobacco control regulations, accept complaints about tobacco control from individuals and organizations, and establish professional supervision and inspections. The team formulates strict supervision and inspection measures and specific punishment rules to ensure that operators, managers and the public in public places strictly abide by the laws and regulations prohibiting smoking in public places.

  At the same time, tobacco control is also a national action.

Chen Feng, deputy director of the Respiratory Department of Chengdu Third People’s Hospital, believes that on the basis of perfecting legislation, education on the harm of tobacco should also be strengthened to make more people aware of the disadvantages of second-hand smoke and be able to actively maintain smoke-free public places. The environment not only regulates personal smoking behavior, but also strengthens the guidance of residents' healthy lifestyles.

  In addition, it is imperative to speed up the establishment of a normalized tobacco control supervision and inspection mechanism that can be operated at the grassroots level.

"It is possible to explore regular supervision and exposure of tobacco control and smoking bans in public places, establish an open and transparent reporting mechanism, etc., and introduce some operational implementation rules as soon as possible." Chen Feng said.