China
Nearly 10,000 volunteers were mobilized to help the enforcement of a blanket smoking ban in Beijing, which took effect on June 1. Two months after Beijing introduced the new smoking ban local authorities describe the control efforts as satisfactory, but are encouraging more people to join the anti-smoking team to ease the shortage of law enforcement personnel.
There are more than 4 million smokers in the city, but only around 1,000 law enforcement personnel to police the anti-smoking ban. Zhang Jianshu, head of Beijing Association on Tobacco Control says they are now recruiting volunteers to support the smoking ban. Nearly 10,000 people have registered online so far. The registration system is still open to the public. Those registered will receive training before they start working.
Mei Hongguang, vice director of Beijing Patriotic Public Health Campaign Committee calls on more people to join the team to stop smokers from lighting up.
“We have 1.8 million enterprises and institutions in Beijing, and more than 4 million smokers,” said Mei. “Based on those huge figures, a smoking ban in the city is an unprecedented job. Before June 1, many people doubted whether we could make it or not. Now, two months have passed, everybody has seen the progress.”