"Under no ceiling may one smoke." The Beijing municipal tobacco control regulation, which has been described as the country's "strictest in history", entered into effect on Monday, prohibiting smoking in indoor public venues and offices, as well as outdoors places where minors gather, such as kindergartens or primary schools. But the question remains, will the regulation be truly effective? Comments:

The regulation has authorized public building managers, health authorities and the police to persuade smokers to stop, yet fails to make clear who is ultimately responsible, thus leaving the possibility that they will pass the buck to each other. For example, if someone smokes in a children's hospital, the hospital staff "should" either get the smoker to stop or call the health authorities; but what punishment will the hospital receive if they fail to perform that duty? Without clear delineations of responsibility, the regulation is likely to become merely a scrap of paper.

Beijing Youth Daily, May 31