The Taipei City Government is looking at options to limit smoking in public places, with one version of the policy likely to be implemented this year, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday.
A “Taipei smoke-free city” plan is expected to be launched by the end of this year, Chiang said.
City officials would study the “very successful” establishment of designated smoking areas in Tokyo, which has cut down secondhand smoke and cigarette litter in the Japanese capital, he said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
“I hope we can change people’s thinking — that is, to prohibit [public smoking] in principle, but allow for some exceptions,” Chiang said.
“It’s very possible that we’ll refer to examples abroad, such as using designated smoking areas or booths,” thereby separating smokers and non-smokers to improve the quality of public spaces, he said.
Taiwan’s approach has been to designate non-smoking areas, allowing smoking everywhere else outside those zones, Chiang said.
However, that has not only led to cigarette butt pollution, but also caused inconvenience to the public, he said.
Chiang said that since taking office, he has promoted smoke-free public housing and smoke-free Lunar New Year market streets, and implemented comprehensive smoking bans around large event venues.
At the same time, in accordance with the Taipei City Emerging Tobacco Products Management Self-Governance Ordinance (台北市新興菸品管理自治條例), the sale of heated tobacco products is prohibited within 50m of schools at the senior-high level and below, including bans on displaying and advertising such items, he said.
He added that artificial intelligence systems would be used for identification to discourage people from smoking in non-smoking areas.
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