Smoking to be banned in public areas

Customers chat inside a coffee shop in Seoul, Tuesday, with a no-smoking sign erected. Smoking in all public facilities will be banned starting this Saturday, as the revised Health Law goes into effect. Cafes will be allowed a grace period until Dec. 31, 2014, to transform smoking zones into smoking rooms which exclude many facilities. / Yonhap By Yun Suh-young Smoking will be banned in all public places starting Saturday, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday. The ministry said smoking in and around all government offices, child and youth facilities, gardens and parking lots will be prohibited in addition to already-designated non-smoking areas. The ban, which will be implemented from Dec. 8, comes a year-and-a-half after the revision of the National Health Law in June last year. Penalties, however, will not be immediately imposed. People and facilities will be given a six-month grace period until they are fully aware of the new anti-smoking policy. With the implementation of the new law, smoking “zones” will be abolished and smoking “rooms” will replace them. The abolishment of the “smoking zone” means smoking will be banned outside buildings except in smoking rooms. Smoking rooms should be established in a separate area, preferably outside buildings. If established indoors, the smoking rooms must be completely separated from the public and equipped with ventilation systems so that the smoke does not affect non-smokers. The purpose of the smoking rooms will be strictly limited to smoking. No computers or tables will be allowed in them. In sensitive facilities such as hospitals, schools and childcare facilities, the smoking rooms must be built 10 meters away from the main building site. The establishment of smoking rooms will be mandatory for facility owners. Violators may face a fine of up to 5 million won. Persons smoking in banned sites will also be fined 100,000 won. “Under the current law, smoking and non-smoking areas were separated. But this policy had its limits in protecting non-smokers from smoke that drifted from smoking areas,” said Im Jong-kyu, a director general for health policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The new law has incorporated the public’s request for smoking to be banned in public places, especially in areas where young children can be exposed to smoke.” Public buildings will now have to display a no-smoking sign at their entrances. Regulations against eateries will also be gradually imposed. Smoking in about 80,000 restaurants, cafes and bars of over 150 square meters in size will be made illegal starting Saturday. The rule will be expanded to places over 100 square meters in size from January 2014. Starting Jan. 1, 2015, all of the 680,000 eateries nationwide must be smoke-free. However, restaurants can operate a smoking room in a separate area. The cafes which have a separate smoking zone which is blocked by glass can operate them until Dec. 31, 2014. From 2015, they must operate them as smoking “rooms” with no tables or other facilities. Rest areas on highways are also designated as public facilities so smoking will be only allowed in outdoor smoking rooms. Meanwhile, tobacco companies will also have to change some of the names and designs of their product. Tobacco products containing words describing specific flavors such as “menthol,” “cherry,” “apple mint,” “coffee,” “mojito” or “aroma” will be banned from sales. Advertisements or cigarette packs containing such words or pictures of certain flavors will be also banned. The ban will be imposed on products being advertised from Dec. 8 or released from manufacturers then onward. The placement of cigarette vending machines is also limited to smoking rooms instead of smoking areas. ysy@koreatimes.co.kr