Guangzhou targets grocers selling smokes to kids, expecting moms

Grocers who sell cigarettes to pregnant women or teenagers in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, could be fined up to 1,000 yuan ($146) per violation under a local government proposal to reduce the dangers of smoking.

A draft proposal of the anti-smoking measure was submitted jointly by 13 members of the Guangzhou People's Congress Tuesday to the 23rd session of the 13th standing committee of the city's People's Congress for its first review.

An earlier draft of the proposal would have completely banned smoking by pregnant women and under-age teens. That provision was struck down as an infringement on people's civil rights.

The Guangzhou Daily quoted a local government official, Zhou Guosheng, as saying Wednesday that whether expectant mothers and underage minors can smoke should depend on the rules in non-smoking areas rather than legally denying them the right to smoke.

"And it is hard to tell at the first sight whether a woman is in her early pregnancy or not," he said.
Some people doubted whether a ban on cigarette sales would be effective.

"The policy is well-meaning, but it is really hard to supervise cigarette retailers," a Guangzhou resident surnamed Gan told the Global Times Wednesday.

"The rule won't be effective without an enhanced public consciousness of the law," he said.

A Guangzhou retailer, Xu Long, said the proposed ban would not hurt cigarette sellers that much because very few pregnant women smoke.

However, a total of 15 million Chinese teenagers aged 13-18 have become regular smokers, according to a 2008 study by the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Xu said that enforcement of the proposed ban would be unwieldy and require enormous government manpower, noting that random spot checks for violations in the past were perfunctory.

Tuesday's draft proposal left open for further discussion who would enforce the ban and collect fines.

"Who collects the fines will not be decided until the draft is approved, " an unnamed staff member of the Patriotic Health Campaign Committee of Guangzhou that oversees the city's smoking rules told the Global Times.

The draft specified 10 no-smoking zones, including indoor areas of hospitals, kindergartens, primary and middle schools, public transportation vehicles, elevators and Internet cafes.

Leisure and entertainment venues such as restaurants and hotels would need to set aside designated smoking areas. Smokers who ignore the no-smoking signs would be fined 50 yuan ($7) each time they light up.

Source: Global Times