A man takes a cigarette break in a public place in Nantong, Jiangsu province, on Nov 30. [China Daily]

Beijing is determined to make public places no-smoking zones after its new tobacco control regulations come into force on June 1. According to the new regulations, smoking has been banned in all indoor public places, workplaces and public vehicles. Smoking is also banned in outdoor public places such as kindergartens, primary and middle schools, heritage institutions, stadiums, maternal-and child-care institutions, and children's hospitals. More important, public organizations that fail to impose the ban will be fined up to 30,000 yuan ($4,839) and individual violators face a 200-yuan penalty.

The new regulations, by far the "strictest" until now, are compatible with the requirements of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Among WHO's six-point MPOWER tobacco control strategy (Monitoring tobacco use and issuing prevention policies, Protecting people from tobacco smoke, Offering help to quit tobacco use, Warning about the dangers of tobacco, Enforcing ban on tobacco advertising, Promotion and sponsorship, and Raising taxes on tobacco), making public spaces and workplaces no-smoking zones is the most feasible measure across the world.

The new regulations have been welcomed by the public, especially because of the rising trend of smoking in Beijing. According to Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, the smoking rate among males in the capital is as high as 43.2 percent; it is 2.4 percent among females. The city has about 4.19 million smokers, and about 10 million people are exposed to and endangered by second-hand smoking.

The new regulations have turned tobacco control into a public issue that demands public supervision with the involvement of the government, communities, social forces and individuals, making it easier to reach a social consensus on tobacco control.