New takes of ban indoor smoking China effect (AP)

BEIJING-

Smoking, which is linked to the death of at least 1 million people in China each year, is one of the greatest threats to health of the country is confronted, show statistics of the Government. 30 Per cent of adults in China smoke, about 300 million people - a number equal to the entire population of the United States.

The Ministry of health in late March out modified guidelines on the management of public places which now ban smoking in most places such as hotels and restaurants, while still excluding workplaces. The rules have been established for implementation on 1 May.

But the State media have questioned on the effectiveness of the ban, with the official Xinhua News Agency quoting experts saying that he is likely to be ignored by smokers and operators of public places because it fails to specify the penalties for offenders.

China has already missed a deadline of January 9, 2011, to prohibit smoking in indoor public places, according to a global anti-tobacco Treaty backed with WHO. Experts say huge revenues from the monopoly of tobacco belonging to the interference State tobacco control measures.

Dr. Yang Gonghuan, Director of the National Chinese tobacco control Office, said despite the problems with the new rules, she remained hopeful that they could raise tobacco control efforts. She said that his Office is not responsible for the implementation of rules.

"I also recognize that there are imperfections in the current guidelines of the Ministry of health, and that to accomplish, preparations were also inadequate," said Yang. "But I think that we should come together to help advance the implementation of the regulations."

The rules are part of the regulations of the Ministry of health on the management of health - in public places a set of rules which also covers the fields, including ventilation, use of disinfectants, air quality and the pest.

The application of these regulations is linked to a problem in a society where smoking is so well that nearly half of all smoke boxes and the cigarette in male doctors are commonly exchanged gifts. People commonly light in waiting rooms of hospitals, arcade video game and even on domestic flights, despite the 1991 regulations that prohibit smoking in workplaces.

The revised regulations call for non-smoking signs to be put up in public places and to require the owners or managers of sites considered to be public to allocate places staff quit, users.