WHO commends Shanghai’s move to create 100% smoke-free public places Ensuring compliance and enforcement of the law essential

 The World Health Organization (WHO) applauds the Shanghai People’s Congress on its move to strengthen Shanghai’s existing tobacco control laws with respect to smoke-free public places. The Shanghai Regulations on Control of Smoking in Public Places (Amendment Draft), reviewed by the Standing Committee of the 14th Shanghai People's Congress in early August, propose making all indoor – and some outdoor – public places in Shanghai 100% smoke-free.

“We are very pleased with the strong language included in the current draft regulation covering all indoor public places and workplaces. This indoor smoking ban will protect people’s health by preventing exposure to deadly second-hand smoke,” said Dr Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO Representative in China.

“It is critically important that these sections of the regulation will be carried forward into the final law and that no exceptions or loopholes be allowed,” said Dr Schwartländer.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – the global tobacco control treaty which China ratified in 2005 – requires all indoor public places to be 100% smoke-free. This is because exposure to second-hand smoke kills – and there is no safe level of exposure. Governments, including in cities like Shanghai, have an obligation to protect non-smokers from toxic, carcinogenic second-hand smoke.

“Everyone has the right to breathe fresh air. Involuntary exposure to second-hand smoke is a fundamental violation of that right – and it is simply unacceptable,” Dr Schwartländer said.

In addition to the draft law’s strong provisions requiring public places to be smoke-free, WHO also welcomes the strong emphasis in the draft law on ensuring compliance and enforcement. In addition to clearly stipulated penalties and delegation of responsibility and authority for enforcement, the draft law emphasises the importance of a whole-of-society approach.

“As we’ve seen in Beijing and other cities around the world, the combination of a strong law which complies with the WHO FCTC, rigorous enforcement, and strong political leadership is unbeatable. Smoke-free public places do work. And they are incredibly popular with the public,” said Dr Schwartländer.

In order to further strengthen the draft regulations, WHO has written to the Shanghai People’s Congress to propose further improvement to the draft law, based on important principles contained in the WHO FCTC:

  • Expand the list of outdoor smoke-free public places, regardless of the gender or age of the intended beneficiaries. As second-hand smoke exposure affects everyone, outdoor smoke-free zones should not be limited only to women and children health care institutes or to public places that serve mainly minors as suggested in the current draft. Rather, all medical and health facilities and alleducational and childcare facilities should receive the benefits of a truly smoke-free environment, both inside and outside;
  • Make explicit mention of the distance of smoking spots in adjacent outdoor open areas. This is necessary as the possibility exists for some smokers to smoke at the entrance or very close to it, thereby defeating the purpose of protection from exposure to second-hand smoke. Stipulating a distance of at least ten metres away from crowded areas and building entrances/exits and main passages that pedestrians must use would better protect non-smokers rights to a smoke-free environment.

“Inclusion of these recommended clauses in the draft regulation would mean that the Shanghai smoke-free law would truly be a global best practice and firmly place Shanghai as one of the model leading cities in tobacco control efforts,” said Dr Schwartländer.

As Shanghai gears up to host the WHO Global Conference on Health Promotion later this year, the spotlight will be on the city and its best practices in promoting public health.

“A comprehensive 100% smoke-free law will without doubt firmly place Shanghai on the global stage as a champion and leader in tobacco control,” Dr Schwartländer concluded.


About the World Health Organization

WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.

For more information please contact:

Ms WU Linlin
E-mail: wul@who.int
Office Tel: +86 10 6532 7191


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