Beijing to smoke out offenders at Olympic venues

Beijing is to recruit 100,000 people to check enforcement of a smoking ban at Olympic sports venues and elsewhere.

Beijing is to recruit 100,000 people to check the enforcement of a smoking ban at Olympic sports venues and elsewhere, state media said on Friday.

Banning smoking completely in Beijing is “impossible” but the city will do its best to ensure a smoke-free environment for the Games, officials said on Thursday.

Restaurants, bars and Internet cafes have been exempted from the proposed smoking ban at public facilities in response to concerns expressed by business owners, officials said earlier this month.

More than 1,000 people have been trained on the enforcement of the smoking ban, while another 100,000 people would be appointed as “inspectors”, Xinhua said, quoting Deng Xiaohong, spokeswoman of the Beijing Health Bureau.

“People caught smoking in forbidden areas face a minor fine of 10 yuan ($1.40) while enterprises and institutions that violate the ban face fines between 1,000 yuan and 5,000 yuan,” it said.

Xinhua also said 100,000 volunteer blood donors would be recruited for the Games. The blood donor recruitment programme began in April and would end by the end of July, it said.

“The host city also plans to establish a bank of rare blood types with 1,000 persons and a 10,000-people blood platelet bank for the Games,” the agency said.