Wednesday, April 02 2008
By Lynda Johnson (
The National Ledger)
Beijing wants to implement a smoking ban for a little kick the habit for the Olympics. Will it work? More people smoke in China than any other country. According to an Associated Press report China is home to 350 million smokers -- a third of the global total. More than 150 Chinese cities already have limited restrictions, but the capital would be the first to ban smoking in all restaurants, offices and schools.
The state run news agency reports that anti-smoking measures are urgent with Beijing promising a tobacco-free Olympics and banning smoking in most public places starting May 1, tobacco-control advocates were quoted Tuesday by English-language China Daily as saying at a seminar in the capital.
The Times reports that enforcing the ban will not be easy. The capital already forbids smoking in cinemas, sports arenas and venues such as airports and railway stations, but still people light up. Cigarettes are woven into Chinese daily life just as they once were in America years ago.
One report notes, "They're an icebreaker, a way of greeting a friend, and a means of bribery. A night out typically means a good meal and cigarettes paired with baijiu, a clear sorghum liquor with a vicious kick."
