Five days' detention for people who defy the smoking ban at indoor public places or fire-risk areas has been ordered by the Ministry of Public Security.
The move is part of a 50-day campaign to prepare a safe environment for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1.
The draconian detention measure in a country that boasts the world's largest smoking population became a talking point after a man caught smoking in a shopping mall in Chongqing was jailed for five days by police on Saturday.
Yuzhong district police caught the 56-year-old Hubei native smoking during a patrol, the Chongqing Evening News reported. He was the first in Chongqing to be detained for smoking in a shopping mall.
The fire department considered the mall to be a major fire hazard, as it was full of flammable materials, while the firefighting facilities were insufficient.
A Yuzhong district fire department official said the man's detention was intended to act as a deterrent to smokers in the mall, and to prevent a fatal disaster.
The man's son complained that the punishment was harsh. He believed a 500 yuan (HK$565) fine would have been appropriate because his father had not fought with police and did not know of the policy.