New anti-smoking sign warns against e-cigarettes
Writer: Zhang Yu | Editor: Holly Wang | From: Shenzhen Daily
The new version of the no-smoking sign. Courtesy of Health Commission of Shenzhen Municipality
Based on the original anti-smoking sign, Shenzhen has released a new version that says no to electronic cigarettes. The revision is the first in China, according to the city’s health commission.
On Oct. 1, the city’s revised regulations on tobacco control officially incorporated electronic cigarettes in the scope of the smoking ban.
“It is an effective measure to directly and widely publicize the new regulations by adding the e-cigarette element to the no-smoking sign,” said Xiong Jingfan, a technical officer of the smoke-free city project in Shenzhen.
Xiong added that it can also avoid disputes caused by illegal smokers in the process of dissuasion and law enforcement when they claim that they are not aware of the regulations on banning e-cigarettes.
The addition of an e-cigarette ban to the no-smoking sign has also won recognition from the WHO. Sun Jiani, a technical officer of WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative in China, hailed it as a necessary move.
In Shenzhen, stores selling electronic cigarettes also need to post warning signs according to the regulations.
If a violation is found, the market supervisory authority shall order the violator to make corrections within a certain time limit and impose a fine of 2,000 yuan (US$285).
A penalty of 10,000 yuan shall be imposed if the violator fails to make corrections within the time limit.
Shenzhen will set a one-year interim period and complete the replacement of relevant anti-smoking signs in public places before Dec. 31, 2020.
In order to facilitate the redesign and production of the new anti-smoking sign in nonsmoking places, templates of the sign can be downloaded from http://wjw.sz.gov.cn/, the website of the health commission.
The city’s tobacco control office will also print a batch of new signs and distribute them to different kinds of nonsmoking places through volunteer supervision campaigns and the training of venue operators.