The new "Smoke Extinguishing Office" on the streets of Yinchuan is set up next to the bus stop.
Cctv news(Reporter Gao Yuting) A few days ago, 286 "smoke suppression places" were added to the streets of Yinchuan City. This move triggered a hot discussion among netizens: Is it to encourage smoking or to encourage smoking cessation? Is it a waste of resources? In response, Yinchuan Environmental Sanitation Management Office responded.
The reporter was informed that these "smoke-extinguishing offices" were funded by Yinchuan Tobacco Monopoly Bureau for about 150,000 yuan and jointly established with Yinchuan Urban Management Bureau.
Some netizens said that many "smoke-extinguishing places" are next to garbage bins. Is it suspected of wasting resources by repeatedly setting up them? If cigarette butts are concentrated in the "smoke extinguishing place", can garbage be strictly classified and recycled as required? Some netizens questioned whether the "smoke suppression office" was set up in crowded public places, such as the entrance of shopping malls and beside bus stops, to encourage smokers to smoke in disguise. On the contrary, it is not conducive to smoking ban in public places.
Accordingly, the relevant person in charge of Yinchuan Environmental Sanitation Management Office explained that the establishment of a "smoking place" is convenient for smokers, and it is more convenient to throw cigarette butts, so that citizens can get rid of the habit of throwing cigarette butts casually and reduce the workload of sanitation workers. The "smoke extinguishing place" is smaller than the garbage bin, which is convenient to install in some crowded places.
The person in charge said that although there are more than 2,800 garbage bins in Yinchuan, which also have special cigarette extinguishing places, some smokers still don’t put their cigarette butts in them, and throwing them into the garbage bins without extinguishing them will easily lead to fires. The person in charge further explained that cigarette butts belong to general garbage, and finally they are incinerated as the general garbage in the garbage bin.
The Regulations on the Control of Smoking in Public Places in Yinchuan stipulates that smoking is prohibited in densely populated areas of parks and squares, as well as during assemblies and major events. According to this, netizens questioned whether setting up a "smoke suppression office" in a crowded public place is to encourage smokers to smoke in disguise.
The staff of Yinchuan Environmental Sanitation Management Office responded that at present, public places in Yinchuan’s smoking ban regulations refer to indoors, while Yinchuan’s "smoke suppression offices" are all located outdoors.
However, although the "Regulations" did not explicitly mention that smoking is prohibited in outdoor areas with dense crowds such as bus stops. But should bus stops also belong to "crowded areas"?
In fact, it is not uncommon for a "smoking place" to become a smoking place. Smoking crowds can be seen at the entrance of the airport lobby and the entrance of the shopping mall. For example, a reporter from Chutian Metropolis Daily once interviewed and found that the "smoke-extinguishing places" in many hospitals in Wuhan became the default smoking places.
Some netizens said that at a time when the smoking ban is getting stricter and stricter, the location of the "smoke extinguishing place" is good, which can really facilitate the public and avoid littering cigarette butts. But if the location is not well placed, it will become a smoking gathering area.