Chinese city imposes US$7 fine for smoking

THE Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou has set the "toughest" anti-smoking rules in the tobacco-addicted nation as the city spruces up for the Asian Games in November, state media reported yesterday.

Smokers in the city will incur fines of up to 50 yuan (US$7) for lighting up in public places such as offices, elevators and karaoke parlours under the rules which came into effect on September 1, Xinhua news agency said, calling it "the nation's toughest smoking ban."

But the fine is roughly equivalent to the cost of four to five packs of mid-priced cigarettes in China, the report said a relative slap on the wrist for residents of one of China's richest cities. China has an estimated 300 million smokers, who freely light up in restaurants, buses, and other public spaces. An offer of a cigarette has become an almost ceremonial gesture when Chinese meet new people.

China is the world's biggest consumer of tobacco, and up to a million people in the country die every year from lung cancer or cardiovascular diseases directly linked to smoking. The government has pledged to ban smoking in all indoor public places by next year.AFP