Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    TWO more smokers were caught red-handed during the second round of smoking ban raids Tuesday night in Luohu District, where police and reporters visited six leisure and entertainment venues.

    The first smoker, who identified himself only by his surname, Lin, was dancing on a dancing blanket at Heke electronic game center in the Dongmen area. The 19-year-old said that he knew nothing about the smoking ban, which has been in place in the city since March 1, 2014. The game center received a verbal warning for failing to discourage Lin from smoking.

    The other smoker, who declined to be named, had a verbal conflict with police after being found smoking at the Yinmei KTV club on Chunfeng Road. The man tried to flee the scene after their room was raided. Yinmei also received a warning, which means it will receive a fine of up to 30,000 yuan (US$4,347) if smoking is found there again. Both the smokers were fined 50 yuan, the minimum penalty on individuals for violating the ban.

    No smoking was found in the other venues that were raided Tuesday night, including a bar, a spa club, and a teahouse. However, some managers of these leisure and entertainment venues complained about the difficulties that they had met while implementing the smoking ban, which was extended to all indoor areas Jan. 1. Some said that they were worried that strictly enforcing the ban would harm their business, while others said that they were not capable of stopping every smoker.

    “Almost all smokers stopped smoking after we persuaded them to, but the problem is that we don’t have enough hands to keep a close eye on smokers all the time,” said Heke’s manager, who identified himself by his surname Zhang.

    Tuesday night’s raids were the second this week, and eight more raids targeting leisure and entertainment venues are being planned for this month. Two smokers were fined and two venues received warnings during the raids Sunday night.