China expects to issue a nationwide regulation banning smoking in public places before the end of the year, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
The regulation is listed on the State Council's legislative plans for this year, said Mao Qunan, spokesman for the commission, on the sidelines of an international health conference in Shanghai this week.
On November 11th, Shanghai adopted a new law to prohibit smoking in all public areas and workplaces after months of intense debate. The law goes into effect in March.
At least 20 cities in China, including Beijing and Shanghai, have no-smoking rules in public places, said Mr. Mao.
China has more than 300 million smokers and is the world's largest producer and consumer of tobacco products, according to the World Health Organization. Smoking caused one million deaths in China in 2010, according to a study published by Lancet medical journal in 2015.
In June, nearly 3,000 public health experts, doctors, lawyers and celebrities signed a proposal in response to the updated draft, pressing the government to come up with new regulations to enforce complete smoking bans in public places.
"So far, the total smoke ban is the most effective way to prevent chronic diseases," said Liang Xiaofeng, the deputy director of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at the time. "The investment is low but the effect is great," he said.
Before the State Council completes the regulation, there is still room for revisions.
Beijing's smoking ban was rolled out in June 2015, and is widely considered as the toughest antismoking law in China. It prohibits smoking in all indoor workplaces, public transport and indoor public places.
China expects to issue a nationwide regulation banning smoking in public places before the end of the year, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
