中國實行在公共場所禁止吸煙的規定。此舉旨在控制死于與吸煙有關的疾病(smoking-related disease)的人數,并保護那些不抽煙民眾的健康。然而,禁煙令的有效性卻遭到了質疑,因為它沒有明確規定如何處罰那些違反規定的人。在中國大約有3億煙民,很多商家因為吸煙客人的抱怨并不歡迎禁煙令。禁煙令涉及的公共場所包括酒店、飯店、劇院和火車站候車室等,卻不包括辦公場所(workplace)。
A ban on smoking in public places has come into force in China. The move is aimed at curbing the number of deaths from smoking-related diseases and protecting the health of non-smoking people. But the ban has been questioned on its effectiveness because it doesn’t specify any penalty for those violating the rules. The number of smokers in China stands at around 300 million. Many businesses don’t welcome the ban because of the complaints about such rules from their customers who smoke. The ban prohibits smoking in public places such as hotels, restaurants, theatres and waiting rooms at railway stations, but not in the workplace.