WHERE THERE’S SMOKE

Aiden Xia

N 1 JUNE 2015, rolled out in have acquired an Oa new, strict anti- law almost benign, even revolutionary im- that placed a ban on smoking in pub- age. And behind the scenes, concerns lic, including restaurants, offices, and about public health have also had to public transport. The regulation also contend with the fact that a govern- forbids advertisements and ment monopoly on tobacco means that the selling of cigarettes within one sales contribute directly to hundred metres of primary schools state coffers. and kindergartens. China has over 300 million smok- ers, 1.37 million of whom die from smoking-related illnesses every year, according to 2014 statistics released by the National Health and Family Plan- ning Commission (NHFPC). Yet the fact that new China’s founding fathers such as Chairman Mao and Deng Xiaoping are often seen smoking in photographs and that some cigarette brands boast patriotic names like 中 Zhongnanhai cigarettes 南海 (China’s seat of government), Source: etmoc.com CHINA STORY YEARBOOK Where There’s Smoke 13 12 2015 Aiden Xia nesses thatnesses failto stamp out smoking and busi- yuan 200 fined be will ers public. Under newlegislation, offend- upin lighting from officials banning Council jointly released regulations tee of theCommunist Party and State resolve. In2013,the Central Commit fortappears to bebacked by increased was alaughable ten yuan—the new ef fine the because whenever—partly lection for lightingupwherever and pics, failedto dent Beijingers’predi- most recently during the 2008 Olym - public smoking in the nation’s capital, Source: chinanews.com paign, whichincludeddraping theiconicBird’sNestinanti-smokingsigns newanti-smokinglawinvolvedahighlyvisiblepublicawareness cam- The rolloutofBeijing’s While past attempts at banning - - 捞 branch of a offender: first their fined inspectors of theregulations cominginto effect, public WeChat account. Within a day pictures of offenders canbesent to a via acallto agovernment hotlineand website. Violations canbereported official an on shamed and named be to 10,000yuan.Repeat violatorswill up fined be could premises their on herence to thenewlaw in eateries and tory’, and there appears to be wide ad- ties declaredthe ban’s result ‘satisfac- , apopularhotpotchain. Within a month, healthauthori- Sichuan Haidiliao 四川海底 bars across the city. But when author- 1.3 minutes (the most of any Chinese ities panned the film, Mr. Six 老炮儿, a film in 2015), the director shrugged off runaway success in 2015 that brilliant- criticism: he had, he explained, simply ly captured Beijing’s urban culture, wanted to depict Beijing life accurately. for featuring a smoking scene every

The motion picture Mr. Six, which was released in September, was noted for featuring a smoking scene every 1.3 minutes Source: cnews.chinadaily.com.cn This text is taken from China Story Yearbook 2015: Pollution, edited by Gloria Davies, Jeremy Goldkorn and Luigi Tomba, published 2016 by ANU Press, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.