北京再次宣佈公共場所禁菸 執行效果存疑

BEIJing — The loudspeakers in the pricey Temple bar erupted at 11:50 p.m. on Sunday with an announcement that set off either joy or despair, depending on the customer: Patrons had 10 more minutes to smoke.

北京——週日夜裏11點50分，人均消費不菲的壇酒吧的音箱響起，宣佈了一條有人歡喜有人愁的消息：顧客們的吸菸時間還剩10分鐘。

A tough new ban on smoking in public took effect at midnight in the Chinese capital, aimed at ending the era of tobacco fumes clinging to clothes and lungs. The estimated 4 million smokers in the city — one-fifth of the population, the government reckons — now have to avoid lighting up in any enclosed public space, including offices, shops, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, airports and trains.

當天午夜，一項嚴厲的新公共場所禁菸令在北京生效，旨在結束衣服和肺部被煙味附着的時代。這座城市的大約400萬菸民——據政府統計，占人口的五分之一——現在不得不避免在任何封閉的公共空間吸菸，比如辦公室、商店、酒吧、餐廳、夜總會、機場和火車站。

Some outdoor spaces are to be smoke-free now as well, including areas outside schools and hospitals as well as some tourist sites. Thinking of lighting up at the Forbidden City or on the Great Wall? Then be prepared for a fine of up to 200 renminbi, or about $32.

一些戶外空間也將禁菸，比如學校和醫院外的區域，以及一些旅遊景點。想在故宮或長城點棵煙抽？等着交200元罰款吧。

And if you are a business owner who permits smoking on your premises or fails to post signs and other information about the ban, including the phone number for reporting violations, the fine can run up to 10,000 renminbi ($1,600).

而如果你是一名商家，在自己的經營場所允許吸菸，或是沒有張貼關於禁菸令的標識或其他信息，比如舉報電話，罰款最高可達1萬元人民幣。

State news media cheered the ban as necessary to protect the public from dangerous secondhand smoke, but many Beijing residents were skeptical that it would actually be enforced. The municipal government has banned smoking twice before — in 1996 and before the 2008 Olympic Games — and each time the ban was widely ignored, with smoke continuing to waft through hotel lobbies, public lavatories and gym locker rooms.

官方媒體稱讚該禁令十分必要，可以防止公衆接觸危險的二手菸，但許多北京市民對規定能否落實表示懷疑。北京市政府曾經兩次發佈禁菸令——分別是在1996年和2008年奧運會之前——每一次都被人們普遍無視，在酒店大堂、公共衛生間和健身房的更衣室，仍然煙霧瀰漫。

City officials say this time will be different. Thousands of “health police officers” trained by the Beijing Health Inspection and Supervision Bureau will fan out to make sure the law is implemented, according to an official at the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning who would give only his surname, Ma.

北京市的官員稱，這一次的結果會不同。北京市衛生計生委的一位官員說，該市的衛生監督局將確保該法規得到落實。這位官員只透露自己姓馬。

“We are not depriving smokers of the right to smoke,” the official said by telephone, explaining that the law merely restricts where they do it. “I’m confident that it will be carried out smoothly and guide people to quit smoking.”

“我們不是在剝奪吸菸者吸菸的權利，”這名官員通過電話說。他解釋說，這項規定只是限定了他們吸菸的場所。“我相信這項規定會順利實施，並引導人們戒菸。”

Suan Weiqing, a waitress at a dumpling restaurant, was less sure. It would be very difficult to stop diners from smoking, she said: “You can’t tell them they’re not allowed to smoke. We’re only a small restaurant, and we can’t offend our customers.”

在一家餃子館當服務員的孫衛青（音）就沒那麼肯定了。讓顧客不抽菸將十分困難，她說：“你不能告訴他們，這裏不許抽菸。我們只是個小餐館，不能得罪客人。”

With a cigarette in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other, Zhang Jiawei, a man in his 50s who said he has been smoking for more than over 30 years, said he supported the ban for health reasons, and that he planned to smoke less because of it.

50多歲的張家偉（音）一隻手拿着煙，另一隻手拿着一雙筷子，說自己已經抽了30多年的煙。他說，從健康角度出發，他支持禁菸，而且因爲這項禁令，他打算以後少抽。

His friend Gao Jianjun, seated across from him, disagreed. “Cigarettes are a good thing,” he said. “I feel sick when I don’t smoke.”

坐在他對面的朋友高建軍（音）卻不同意。“煙是好東西，”他說。“不抽我就覺得不舒服。”

Cigarettes are something of a national pastime in China, especially among men. Wedding banquet tables routinely feature plates of stacked cigarettes for guests. Cartons of expensive brands have long been given as presents or to curry favor with officials.

在中國，香菸稱得上一種全體國民消遣物，對於男性尤其如此。婚禮的宴席上往往會爲客人準備香菸，成堆地擺在碟子裏。長期以來，裝在紙盒裏的昂貴品牌一直是饋贈或者討好官員的佳品。

Smoking is also important to the country financially: A state-run monopoly manufactures one-third of the world’s cigarettes and accounts for a significant share of state revenue.

吸菸對中國經濟也十分重要：一個國家壟斷產業製造了世界上三分之一的香菸，在政府財政收入中佔很大比重。

China has some 301 million smokers, almost one-third of the world’s total, according to the World Health Organization. Nearly 53 percent of men and 2.4 percent of women smoke regularly, the organization estimates, and the habit contributes to a million deaths a year from heart disease, cancer and other ailments. Secondhand smoke causes another 100,000 deaths a year, the organization estimates.

據世界衛生組織(World Health Organization)調查，中國共有3.01億菸民，幾乎佔世界菸民總人數的三分之一。世衛組織估計，有將近53%的男性和2.4%的女性有抽菸習慣，而與吸菸有關的心臟病、癌症和其他疾病每年會導致100萬人死亡。世衛組織估計，每年另有10萬人死於二手菸。

In Beijing alone, smokers burn through 14.6 million cigarettes a day on average, according to a study conducted last year by the Beijing Patriotic Health Campaign Committee. The study found that secondhand smoke was probably inhaled by 90 percent of people who went to bars and clubs, 65 percent of diners in restaurants and 40 percent of people in their own homes.

根據北京愛國衛生運動委員會去年的調查，僅僅在北京，菸民平均每天要抽掉1460萬支香菸。調查發現，可能90%前往酒吧和夜店的人、65%的餐廳用餐者，以及40%待在自己家中的人，都是二手菸受害者。

Against that backdrop, the ban’s impact could be significant. “Beijing has now set the bar very high,” said Dr. Bernhard Schwartländer, the W.H.O. representative in China, in a statement. “We now look forward to other cities around China, and the world, following Beijing’s excellent example.”

在這樣的情況下，禁令的影響可能會很大。“北京已經樹立了一個很高的標杆，”世衛組織駐華代表施賀德博士(Dr. Bernhard Schwartländer)在聲明中稱。“現在，世衛組織期待中國其他省市、全世界其他地方，都能向北京看齊。”