Ban on indoor smoking in public places set

The new service will be featured at its Web site www.e-quit.org for all Chinese-language speakers around the world, officials of the foundation said yesterday. Under the new rules in the latest amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, the ban on indoor smoking in public places will be enforced starting on Jan. 11 next year.

The foundation received more than 100 calls during the month of October questioning how companies or other public business places can avoid penalties. The callers wanted to know how and where to file complaints if their employers fail to abide by the new rules. A large portion of the callers also sought assistance to kick smoking habits, the officials said.

During 12:30 p.m. to 13:30 p.m. on every Tuesday and Thursday, the foundation will arrange medical experts, lawyers, and volunteers to engage in online dialogue and provide assistance to people annoyed by smoking, they said at a press conference.They also took the occasion to rebuke the statements of lobbyists who asserted that the government’s plan to raise the surcharge on each pack of cigarettes to NT$20 from the current NT$10.

The lobbyists said raising the costs of cigarettes will only encourage more rampant smuggling of cigarettes into the black market without helping to reduce the number of smokers.

Officials at the foundation said that cigarette smuggling had long existed before the price surcharge and it remains a problem that has to be dealt with stepped-up crackdowns by law enforcement agencies.

Nevertheless, smuggling should never be used as an excuse to prevent the raise in the surcharge, which can be an effective deterrent to smoking and prompt more people to avoid smoking, they said.

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