Clearing the Air

Despite years of health campaignsand growing awareness of the dangersofsecondhand smoke，smokingin publicremainsa problem across China.Now，withbothgovernmentactionand publicpressure intensifying，aresmoke-freeenvironments finallywithinreach？

公共場所無煙化離我們還有多遠？

X The Chinese actress was having lunch with her mother lastDecember when they noticed the man smokingatanearbytable.Afterstaffrepeatedly asked him to stop，Xu confronted him herself，but he refused， claiming there was no no-smoking signin therestaurant.Xucalled thepolice， but they told her there was no legislation prohibiting indoor smoking in Changsha， so they couldn't penalize him.AfterXu posted the video on the microblogging platform Weibo，it quickly sparked public debate.Many were shocked to learn that， whilea number of Chinese cities have regulations on smoking in public spaces， there isno national lawaddressing the issue.

This is not the first time the topic has drawn national attention.Despite years of government campaigns and public pressure，banning smoking inpublicremainsdifficult， tangled inpractical challenges and competing interests—from business ownerswary of enforcement and pushback from smokers，to the discomfort ofbystanders caughtin between. Even in major metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai，where public smokingis banned， laxenforcementand vague definitions of“public area”continue to cloud the situation.

While the rate of smoking among men far exceeds that of Women， the latter-as well as children-are not exempt from harm， as many are exposed to secondhand smoke.

Smoking bans are nothing new in China. As earlyas1839，Lin Zexu famouslydestroyed overa thousand tons of opium on the beaches of Humen， Guangdong province，in a determined effort to resist British imports and curb the country's growing population of smokers and opium dens. Nearlytwo centurieslater，while opiumsmoking hasvanished under China's strict narcotics ban，tobacco remains pervasive.Troubled by secondhand smoke，many netizens joke that they wishLin could be resurrected to end thisbad habit too.In reality， smoking is so deeply woven into Chinese social life that it permeates everything from business etiquette to family gatherings.

Today， over 3OO million Chinese still smoke more than 2O percent of people aged 15 and over. Overl million people die annually in China from smoking-related illnesses，including respiratory diseases，malignant tumors， cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions， and diabetes，according toa 2020 government report.While the rate of smoking among men （43.9 percent） far exceeds that of women （1.8 percent），the latter-as well as children—are not exempt fromharm，asmanyare exposed to secondhand smoke.

Menaccount formostof China's smokers，yetwomenand children remainat risk fromsecondhand smoke （VCG）

A government policy introduced in 2018 designates smoking on trains asa threat to operational safety and grounds forrestricting future rail travel [VCG]

\"The policy might give us more legitimacy to intervene， but my boss prioritizes customer satisfaction.\"

Asearlyas2O11， theMinistryofHealth announced that“smoking is prohibited in indoor publicplaces，and operators of such places must display prominent no-smoking signs.”As of May 2024，24 province-level divisions have enacted tobacco control regulations，and 254 citieshave introduced municipal-level regulations，according to data from the China Association on Tobacco Control for Health.

Yet the country continues to lack a unified national tobacco control law that specifies enforcement mechanisms and disciplinary measures.In2Ol4，penaltiesfor violatorswere proposedbuthaveyettobeofficiallyadopted.

Beijing passed its official smoking control regulationin2Ol4，hailedat the timeas“the strictest smoking control regulation inhistory.\"It included a public smoking ban and penalties of up to 2OO yuan for individuals and up to 10，000 yuan for venues.

Yet even business owners in the capital are still hesitant to intervene for fear of losing customers and receiving poor reviews.Li，who worksat a 24-hour gaming lounge in southeast Beijing and agreed to share onlyherlastname，experienced this firsthand after confronting two customers who lit up indoors. The 24-hour gaming lounge， which rentsout time on various consoles，hasbecome popular among young gamers—and also attracts plenty of smokers， despite clear no-smoking signs andrepeatedstaff reminders.

In an attempt to placate two regular smoking clients，Li upgraded their booking—offering a large private roomat the price of a medium one—but the smoking persisted.Eventually， she suggested theygotoaloungewhere smokingwas permitted.Afewhoursafter theyleft，abad review of her business appeared online.

“Most of the customers who come late at night are smokers，” Li tells TWOC.“For every group that lightsup，Iusuallyhave to remind them twice—if not more—to put out their cigarettes. They flick ash on the floor and stub out their butts there， too.\"

Unaware that Beijing has laws against indoor smoking，Li remarks，“People who smoke inside the store simply don't care about the rules.I really wish there were fines for smoking indoors.\" Evenafterlearning that fines can be imposed， sheremains skeptical about enforcement.“The policy might giveusmore legitimacy to intervene，\" she admits，“but my boss prioritizes customer satisfaction.\"

Sometimes smoking control is even a point of contention among colleagues. Zhou， the property manager ata mall incentral Chengdu，Sichuan province，whoagreed tobeinterviewedunderhis lastname，notes thatbeyond designated smoking rooms，smokers often gather inless visible areas suchasrestrooms，fire escape stairwells，secluded backstreet corners，and the landscaped areas near loading docks.

Although these areas are technically nonsmoking，Zhou estimates that over 7O percent of themall's staff smoke，makinga complete ban difficult to enforce.His property management team has tried to crack down on indoor smoking—both for health reasons and to prevent potential fire hazards—including efforts to collaborate with the local police to issue warnings or even summons when necessary.

\"But we've met constant resistance from the operationsandleasingdepartments，\"Zhou says.“Safety should always come first， but when economic interestsareat stake，it's often pushedaside.\"

Asurveyconducted earlier thisyearrevealsthat， despite thevastmajorityofShanghairesidents stating theydislike secondhand smoke， only1.57 percent would dare to confront smokers directly. Most people said they instead opt to move away fromthe individual，andif they can't， they simply endure thediscomfort.

Part of theproblemisanambiguous definition of what constitutes“public space，”and the lack of clear regulations to back up complaints.This can lead to potential confrontation for people like Xu， who did take the initiative and speak out.

OnDecember13，2024，justbeforeXu's runin，China'sStateCouncilreleasedanamended regulation that removed five types of venuesrestaurants，inns，cafés，bars，andteahouses—from its list of public places governed by the Public Places Sanitation Management Regulation.The change took effect on January 20， 2025，sparking public confusion overwhether these venues were still considered public places in the context of smoking bans.

In January，Professor Wang Qingbin of the Institute of RuleofLawat ChinaUniversity of Political ScienceandLawtoldRedStarNews that the regulation's scope is narrow， focusing mainlyonsanitationmanagementrather than

\"If someone tells me I can't smoke here， I'll stop. But if no one savs anything， I'll just keep smoking.\"

thebroader concept of“public spaces.\"As a result， itoffersno legal basisforroutine tobacco control enforcement.He noted that regulators have avoided defining what constitutes a“public place” because a simple，commonsense understanding suffices，saying that it generallyrefers toanynonprivate spaceaccessibleto the general public.“This broaderinterpretation isnecessary for effective tobacco control，”he explained，“...especially since it's impossible to list every kind of public venue.”

Inpractice，however，manysmokersthemselves areuncertainabout where smoking isallowed.\"If someone tells me Ican't smoke here，I'll stop，” says a smoker of nine years surnamed Xiong.“But if no one says anything， Ill just keep smoking.\"

Another major reasonauthorities have been slowto actis the cigarette industry's close ties to the government.Tobacco taxationremainsa major source of the country's fiscal revenue，with the tobacco industry operating as a centralized， state-run monopoly. In 2O24， cigarettes generated a total of 1.6 trillion yuan in tax and profit， markinga5percentyear-on-year increase.And fiscal contributions reached 1.5 trillion yuan， up 2.8 percent from the previous year—both figures setting record highs.

Inaninterview with domestic outlet Yicai， Martin Taylor， the representativeatthe World Health Organization's China office，emphasized that thereis still considerable roomto raise tobacco taxes in China，which at present only accountfor52percentofcigarettes'retail price onaverage，significantlybelowtheWorldHealth Organization'srecommended benchmark of 75 percent.

“When local governments in China consider shifting their consumption-driven policies away from tobacco and toward other sectors—such as education，food and entertainment，sports，and health-relatedactivities—itcan yield greater economic returns in both the short and long term， while also supporting high-quality population development，” Taylor suggests.

The latest WHO report on global tobacco usealso notesthatwhile China hasmade strong progress in smoking-related monitoring， preventivemeasures，andpublicawareness campaigns， it must step up efforts in implementing comprehensive smoke-free regulations and improving health warnings on cigarette packaging

Inrecent years，local governments have introduced more concrete enforcement measures， with top-tier cities pioneering new approaches. Since March， Shanghai has piloted joint governance of outdoor smoking at eight popular landmarks，including theBund，WukangRoad， and the Yu Garden.The initiative has garnered broad public support，with one highly-upvoted comment online reading，“It should be promoted across the country.\"InJune，Shanghai added 13 locationsas part of the city's second phase of outdoor secondhand smoke control pilot sites.Meanwhile，in Beijing，a decade of efforts under the city's smoking control regulations has yielded notable progress：as of the latest data，only19 percent of residentsaged 15 and

above smoke，markinga 4.2 percentage point decrease since 2015.

In some of the most smoke-polluted environments， especially restaurants，change isalsounderway.ThisMay， theBeijingFood andBeverage Industry Associationlaunched aninitiative promoting“Smoke-Free Model Restaurants，”urgingall dining establishments to eliminate smoking entirely， including in private roomsandon outdoorterraces.

A surge of social media posts in the past year has also called for stronger action against secondhand smoke.One influential account in particular， \"Public Area Anti-Smoking Security Guard on Xiaohongshu （RedNote）， has gained traction for its regularcontent of people sharing their experiences of confronting smokers in public.

Until last August， the account was simply a way forLin，who agreed to be interviewed only under her last name，to documentherdaily life in Guangzhou.But one （since-deleted） post about her trying to stop a man ata neighboringtable from lighting a cigarette， only to receive a strange look from the restaurant staffwhen she reported it，struckachord with usersand sparked an outpouring of support from people who shared her angerabout secondhand smokeand frustration over the lack of law enforcement.

Moved by the unexpected encouragement online，Lin resolved to takeaction，researching relevantlawsandpubliclysharing information on how best to report indoor smoking violations. “[The ideal world] might takea very long time to arrive-so longthatIcan’tgiveadefiniteanswer astowhen it mightbe，shetells TWOC.Linadds that since starting the account，she has called the governmenthotline nearly every time she visited a restaurant that allowed smoking，requesting authoritiesto finethe establishment.Noneof the reports led toapenalty.“Smokersare too coddled in our society，\" she laments.

Several restaurants she visited in Guangzhou， Dongguan，Jiangmen，and Foshan did eventually take heed of her complaints，designating smoking and non-smoking areas and putting up no-smoking signs.Whileit'sastart，her fightto seemeaningful change continues，going so faras to file complaints of negligence against the authorities themselves.

Xu， the actress，is also one of the account’s more than15，OoO followers.Ina May interview with Portrait magazine，she said she was impressed byhow diligentlyand systematically the account owner compilesrelevantlawsand complaint channels.Xuadded that it inspires her to continue using her platform to speak out against public smoking.

“For me， this is more about wanting a better environment to live and work in.It's my way of voting for the kind of worldI want to see，”says Xu.