Shanghai - Hospitals and restaurants may soon be prohibited from providing people with free plastic bags in the latest attempt to limit the use of the environmentally harmful product, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

A similar prohibition has already been implemented for supermarkets, department stores and open markets around the country.

The ministry is collecting public opinions about the proposal and a new regulation on the subject is being formulated, Li Jiajian, an official from the ministry's Department of Commercial Services Administration, said on Sunday.