{"id":25452,"date":"2025-04-26T19:55:52","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T11:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=25452"},"modified":"2025-05-01T22:32:52","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T14:32:52","slug":"smokers-ignore-anti-smoking-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2025\/04\/smokers-ignore-anti-smoking-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Smokers Ignore Anti-smoking Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Smokers turn a blind eye to no smoking sign in Shenzhen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Ivonne Deng<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tiny no-smoking sign that can hardly be seen is hung on a wall inside a bar in Shenzhen. A few ashtrays are placed on its bar counter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know that smoking is banned in public areas including bars, but I never stop customers from smoking. Otherwise, my business will suffer,\u201d its bartender, Zhang Jinglong, says as he passes an ashtray to one of the customers who is smoking while drinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCustomers can still smoke in bars and restaurants whenever they want,\u201d Zhang, who has been working in the bar for three years, adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2014, it has been illegal to smoke in bars and restaurants in Shenzhen. Offenders are subject to a penalty of RMB\uffe550 (US $6.8) if they stop smoking when being warned. A higher fine of RMB \u00a5200 (US $27.22) will be imposed on an offender if he or she refuses to stop smoking, and if he or she confronts officers, he or she will face a fine of RMB \u00a5500 (US $68.04). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though hidden on a wall in the bar, the no-smoking sign clearly states the fine and complaint hotline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The no smoking sign designed by the governm<\/em><\/em>ent is posted in a hotel.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But no one in the bar in Futian, southern Shenzhen, pays any attention to the sign, including the bartender. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m also a smoker. I have been smoking one pack of cigarettes a day for eight years. The anti-smoking policy hasn\u2019t changed my habits at all. All the smokers I know have never been fined,\u201d Zhang says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While allowing customers to smoke, he doesn\u2019t worry that non-smokers will ruin the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNon-smokers come to bars as well. They stay if they can bear it,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Zhang sees no one taking the smoking ban in Shenzhen seriously, the Public Hygiene and Health Commission of Shenzhen Municipality states that the city has the strictest smoking control policy among all cities in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shenzhen government released a special economic zone control smoking ordinance in 2014, and revised it in 2019 to include a ban on e-cigarettes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government claims that no-smoking signs are posted in nearly 90 per cent of indoor premises such as restaurants, government offices, and shopping malls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The volunteer is posting the sign<\/em> in a restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

University student Ni Ziyi, who often goes to restaurants and bars in Shenzhen, says that she cannot stand second-hand smoke. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce I find customers smoking in any indoor premise, I just leave,\u201d she says, adding that she does not dare to confront smokers in a bar or restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cTo avoid conflicts, I won\u2019t stop them, and I have never seen any restaurant or bar operator do so. Smokers in China are mostly middle-aged men. They are difficult to talk to and easy to get angry. I think that is the main reason why nobody stops them,\u201d she says.

The Year Two economics major student is disappointed when talking about the anti-smoking policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have never seen any authority or volunteers telling smokers to stop. I don\u2019t think anyone is enforcing the law in Shenzhen. And I don\u2019t believe there will be. Smokers will always smoke,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Yu Mingyun, leader of a smoking control team in Longhua District, Shenzhen, a government-organized volunteer team, says he finds there is a drop in the number of smokers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Student volunteers in Longhua district, Shenzhen <\/em>
(Photo courtesy of Yu Mingyun)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Yu\u2019s 20-member team patrols bars and restaurants in Longhua District once a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe walk around the community, check if smoking signs are posted in every indoor premise such as restaurants and stores, talk to business operators, and stop smokers from smoking,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stepping into a shop, Yu starts talking to the owner after checking the signs. \u201cWe are smoking control volunteers. We ask smokers to go outside or stop. Smoking is bad for health and dangerous as it may cause fire,\u201d he says, though most business operators stay silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team gives smokers pamphlets about the no-smoking policy, but rarely urges them to stop smoking if they do not want to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team also has to handle customers\u2019 complaints. People can take photos of smokers in indoor premises like restaurants and upload them to a WeChat mini programme launched by the Shenzhen Tobacco Control Office in 2024. Volunteers then go to do checks in two days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as volunteers, they have no right to fine offenders. \u201cMost smokers are willing to cooperate. But the only thing we can do is to give advice,\u201d Yu says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have taken part in volunteer work for five years. We do not see people smoking in office buildings and restaurants, and all my family members and friends don\u2019t smoke or have quit smoking,\u201d Yu shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two college students joined his team as volunteers in March, and Yu believes more young people will join him to fight smoking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know it is difficult to stop these smokers, but at least we should make an effort, and I am committed to doing this,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edited by Bliss Zhu<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sub-edited by Cathleena Zhu<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smokers turn a blind eye to no smoking sign in Shenzhen. by Ivonne Deng A tiny no-smoking sign that can hardly be seen is hung on a wall inside a bar in Shenzhen. A few ashtrays are placed on its bar counter. \u201cI know that smoking is banned in public areas including bars, but I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":25519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2263,2164,2262],"class_list":["post-25452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-community","tag-rules","tag-shenzhen","tag-smoking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25452"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25565,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25452\/revisions\/25565"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}