Smokers will be kicked off campus across the capital in a bid to prevent more people from picking up the habit.

To coincide with the country's total ban on lighting up in indoor public areas, which comes into effect on Sunday, Beijing's health bureau has vowed to make all schools and colleges smoke-free by the end of this year.

Enforcement committees will be set up at kindergartens, elementary and middle schools, vocational schools and universities, according to an official notice. Smoking, cigarette sales and tobacco advertising are all banned, while institutions are also expected to hold lectures and other activities to push the anti-smoking message among teachers and students.

Health bureau supervisors will make regular visits to ensure the policy is implemented, with fines in place for offenders, the release added.

Data from the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control show 32.4 percent of China's 130 million youngsters have tried smoking, with 11.5 percent taking up the habit.

"Banning smoking should really start at schools," said Duan Jiali, director of school health for the Beijing Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. "We found the problem most serious in polytechnic and vocational schools, a key emphasis of our work."

A survey by the Shanghai Academy of Sciences to compare the number of high school smokers in China, South Korea and Japan also found a larger percentage of Chinese students took up the habit.

Yang Jinyan, a doctor at Beijing Heng'an Chinese Traditional Medicine Hospital said his clinic is receiving ever-increasing number of young adults diagnosed with lung cancer. "Last year I diagnosed a late-stage lung cancer patient and he died several weeks ago. He was only 21," she told METRO. "It disturbs me to think so many young people in China do not realize the harmful effects of smoking."

Legal experts also say there is a strong link between smoking and juvenile delinquency. A study by Chaoyang district court showed that, out of the 45 teenage suspects tried in the first quarter of 2011, roughly 75 percent of them smoke.

Students' responses were mixed. "I hate smokers sitting beside in the school canteen," complained Ding Xiaoxiao, 17, at Chaoyang Vocational School. "I support the ban and hope to see a cleaner campus in the near future."

However, 18-year-old smoker Zhang Zhi said he will not be quitting the habit any time soon. "I smoke because my friends do. It's so cool," he added. "If the school is really strict with smoking on campus, I'll go outside to smoke between classes."

China Daily

(China Daily 04/28/2011)