According to the new bill, the Chinese government wants to ban smoking in indoor public environments and also outdoors in schools, kindergartens, hospitals and sports facilities. The bill also includes a restriction on smoking in films and television. This is reported by Reuters , citing China's state news agency Xinhua. The bill is now out for consultation.

China is the world's largest tobacco market, and so far the Chinese government's reliance on large tobacco tax revenues has hampered tobacco prevention efforts. In 2013, tobacco sales brought the state 816 billion yuan, about 990 billion in Swedish money, and that was 14 percent more than the year before.

This time too, the bill has been weaker than originally intended, sources told Reuters. China's powerful state tobacco monopoly is said to have blocked parts of the bill through intense lobbying. This means that no total ban on tobacco advertising is included in the bill.