Shanghai has unveiled its 2026 tobacco control plan, increasing enforcement of indoor smoking bans, discouraging smoking in outdoor public spaces, and guiding smokers to designated smoking areas.

The plan, reported March 10 by domestic media, expands the number of smoke-free spaces in the city and seeks to reduce smoking violations as well as the city’s overall smoking rate.

A national leader in tobacco control, Shanghai enacted the country’s first smoking control regulations in 2010. The city has over 5,000 registered tobacco control volunteers, who conducted nearly 100,000 smoking inspections across various establishments last year. A 2025 survey of Shanghai residents by city health authorities found that 98% of respondents support a total indoor ban on smoking. 

According to the plan, authorities will ramp up oversight in locations with high rates of smoking violations, including commercial office buildings, restaurants, taxis, and entertainment venues.

Local authorities said they will also begin using artificial intelligence and other new technologies to strengthen tobacco control and designate additional smoke-free zones, though didn’t specify how. Bus stops will also be designated as smoke-free zones.

After a successful pilot in the city’s southwestern Jinshan District, smoking history inquiries will be mandated during initial medical consultations. Each district will also establish at least one standardized smoking cessation clinic and require smoking-related training for health care providers. 

The plan emphasizes the role of schools and public outreach in educating at-risk groups like adolescents and women on evolving tobacco-related threats ranging from e-cigarettes to the rising trend of “cigarette cards,” where students turn discarded packaging into playground game pieces.

Last March, Shanghai banned smoking while walking and piloted a program allowing smoking violations to be reported through the 12345 hotline. Violations can carry fines of up to 200 yuan ($29) for individuals and 30,000 yuan ($4,360) for venues.

The policies helped spawn a citizen-led anti-smoking movement. On lifestyle app Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, an increasing number of users are actively discouraging smoking in public and sharing strategies for persuading smokers to comply. Meanwhile, several stand-up comedians have earned the title “anti-smoking ambassadors” by turning real-life smoking interventions into hilarious routines for reality shows and live performances.

“Enforcement must take effect on the ground,” Zhang Yu, a Shanghai-based tobacco-control volunteer, told Sixth Tone. “Volunteers need legal backing, and the public needs health protection.” 

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: VCG)