<strong>China: Xiamen Sets up Association on Tobacco Control to Promote Smoking Ban</strong>

Source from:  Whats On Xiamen (cn)  09/04/2014

On 29th May this year, Zhongshan Road officially became the first smoke-free commercial street in Xiamen. And the Xiamen Association on Tobacco Control was set up recently to help achieve the smoke-free goal in all government departments and institutions within the next five years, according to xmnn.cn.

The association hopes to accomplish the smoking ban as part of the civilized unit evaluation for government departments and institutions, which will be linked to bonuses for government workers.
 
Mr. Dai Long, director of Health Education of the Xiamen Disease Control Center and secretary of the Xiamen Association on Tobacco Control, said the health department achieved its smoke-free goal last year. The newly opened association and education department will jointly promote the smoking ban in primary and secondary schools across the city.
 
Xiamen is drafting regulations for smoking bans and is expected to adopt an enforcement pattern in which the smoking ban will be carried out by different departments in accordance with different locations. Mr. Dai recently took inspection tours to Shenzhen and Guangzhou in order to study the best implementation methods.
 
The association is expected to include the SM and Wanda commercial areas in its smoking-free project and launch the smoking ban at railway stations, long-distance bus stations, airport and ports in the future. Enditem