Controversy clouds debate on toughest smoking regulation

NANCHANG - Lawmakers in an East China city are close to voting on the country's toughest law to ban smoking in offices, restaurants, bars and all indoor public places, officials said on Wednesday, months after the draft was shelved because it proved too controversial.

The regulation on minimizing the risks posed by second-hand smoke, if passed by the legislature of Nanchang city on Friday, will be the strictest of its kind in a country with the world's largest number of smokers and a deep-rooted smoking culture.

Public health experts say the legislation is "pivotal" to the tobacco-control crusade and may jump-start a nationwide campaign to provide comprehensive protection for an estimated 740 million people who are exposed to second-hand smoke, according to statistics from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.