Two sessions: ban all Chinese officials from smoking at work, lawmaker urges

Tobacco controls are poorly enforced and cadres must set an example for others to follow, legislator says

Call comes seven years after the national cabinet ordered government offices to become smoke-free

Reading Time:2 minutes

About a quarter of the people aged over 15 in China are smokers, according to official figures. Photo: EPA

Published: 8:04pm, 23 May 2020Updated: 11:26pm, 23 May 2020

China should ban government officials from smoking at work to highlight the poor implementation of tobacco control measures, according to a proposal to China’s top legislature.

He Lin, a deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC), has also suggested that non-smoking officials be given priority in promotions and cadres judged on their commitment to enforcing anti-tobacco regulations.

“If the government sets an example, other sectors may follow and a smoke-free China can become possible,” she said.

In 2013, the State Council, the country’s cabinet, banned government officials from smoking in public and ordered that all government offices become non-smoking areas.

Thirteen cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, also have introduced smoking control regulations, including bans on smoking public places and in government offices in particular.

In Beijing, the municipal government took the national lead in 2015, banning all smoking indoors as well as in crowded outdoor areas.