China Tightens Smoking Ban…In Day Care Centers
We all know there is enough smoking in China to give a Parisian a coughing fit. Yet the recent push to make sure that fewer people are smoking in day care centers and primary schools boggles the mind. Did China really need the Olympics to discover that smoking around toddlers is a bad idea? [full article here]
China has further tightened smoking restrictions — targeting schools and day care centers — as it extends a crackdown linked to its pledge to hold a smoke-free Olympics…
In a separate move reported on Wednesday, China ordered primary schools, secondary schools and day care centers across the country to prohibit even designated smoking zones, an effort to promote ‘non-smoking campuses’ ahead of the Games.
Um, why did schools have designated smoking areas? This completely defies logic. Was this to protect kids from their classmate smokers? Or maybe it was to ensure kids could smoke in a more comfortable environment. Plus China is now going to teach students about how bad smoking is for you. Apparently cigarettes are to China what sex is to the Christian right in America: if you teach kids about the potential harm…they’ll be unable to control themselves.
All cynicism aside, maybe edicts like these–you know, ones that should have been implemented years ago–will ultimately be the most important legacy of the Olympics. (Or two weeks of martial law. Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)
Lu responds:
Posted: April 10th, 2008 at 5:43 pm →
Perhaps the designated smoking areas are for smoking teachers? At least they are not smoking in the classrooms…
theotherrichard responds:
Posted: April 10th, 2008 at 7:12 pm →
But who will I bum a light from if the highschool kids hanging around the McDonalds downstairs give up smoking?
Larry responds:
Posted: April 10th, 2008 at 10:41 pm →
Oh, no. This is a great step backward for Human Rights. The clients in schools and day cares must be allowed to decide what to do to entertain themselves. If smoking is what they were taught to do at home, they should be able to do that in schools and anywhere else.
What they should do is to have classes on the art of smoking. How to select the right cigarette, what is the best way to light up, how to hold your smokes in your hand to show culture and poise, how to inhale, how to blow smoke rings, etc.
Scott responds:
Posted: April 11th, 2008 at 9:56 am →
How exactly does this relate to the smoke-free Olympics? Do they plan on busloads of Olympic tourists visiting primary and secondary schools after visiting the ‘Long Wall’? While I am against smoking at schools and daycares (of course), I just don’t see how the two are related, especially if the schools aren’t even in session while the games are in town (I am assuming that schools won’t start until end of August, so sorry if I am wrong).
Scott
Stephen Barth responds:
Posted: May 2nd, 2008 at 12:06 am →
Hi. Thought everyone might find it interesting that more and more cities worldwide are going non-smoking. Beijing announced on Friday that it would ban smoking in time for the Olympics. The ban would cover most public buildings. According to the USAToday article, “restaurants, bars, and hotels can still allow smoking but must provide smoke-free areas or rooms.” In a city where “23% of those above age 15 smoke,” one restaurant preempted the ban and went smoke free last week. The restaurateur already reports improved business and customer satisfaction.
You guys should check out Stephen Barth’s challenge to the industry to go non-smoking. His blog on HospitalityLawyer.com is at: http://blog.hospitalitylawyer.com/