LAW enforcement punished 10 illegal smokers in the first two days of the third round of smoking-control campaign which was launched recently, according to the Shenzhen Evening News.

The first inspection in this round started at Platinum Square near the Guomao food center in Luohu District at 7 p.m. Monday. During the peak hours for dinner, the officers went into the building and found two smokers in the corridor. One of them, who was smoking in front of a restroom, was fined 50 yuan (US$7.27) after being educated on the law.

The officers also found three smokers in a cafe in the building and imposed a fine of 50 yuan on each of them. The shop owner said that no proper solution had been found to completely stop consumers from smoking even though the staff had already publicized the smoking prohibition.

According to the regulations on smoking control in Shenzhen, the staff working in a non-smoking area are responsible for asking smokers to put out their cigarettes and asking those who refuse to do so to leave the area. If the offender declines to leave, then the case should be reported to the authority.

During the inspection, very few no-smoking signs were found in the corridors inside the building and, in contrast, a batch of ashtrays were readily spotted and cigarette butts could be seen in the ashtrays or on the floor, according to the newspaper.

The regulation also mentioned that smoking-related appliances or ads must not be put in non-smoking areas. Meanwhile, no-smoking signs, along with monitoring and complaint hotlines, should be clearly posted at the entrances of the areas.

The second inspection focused on the Shangmeilin food center in Futian District at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

A waiter at a seafood restaurant tipped off the workers upstairs when he saw the officers enter, but officers still caught six illegal smokers, four of whom were smoking in a private dining room.

Gao Wenhui, an officer of Shenzhen Smoking Control Association, said that private rooms at restaurants are in fact public areas, not private ones. He added that waiters should require that customers refrain from smoking, but unfortunately they have not shouldered this responsibility, so the next step will be to enhance the training of staff at restaurants and other venues.

(Chen Siqi)