Taipei To Trial Outdoor Smoking Ban in Popular Shopping District
The Taipei city government is banning smoking in a popular shopping district ahead of a potential citywide ban. But without a consensus on where to put designated smoking areas, shoppers and locals worry the ban is not a sustainable solution.
REPORTER:
Smokers will soon be banned from lighting up on the streets of Taipei. The new rules are likely to take effect by the end of the year, but the city is first trialing the ban on one of the most popular lunar new year shopping spots.
This bustling shopping district in Taipei is gearing up for the upcoming lunar new year.
Ahead of the influx of holiday shoppers, the Taipei city government has chosen Dihua street as a testing ground for a potential city-wide smoking ban.
The temporary ban will run for a little over two weeks.
Many here support the idea but doubt how effective it will be.
I was in the restroom and smelled cigarette smoke. I really don’t like it. Yes, and it was a public restroom. Basically, it’s a bad phenomenon.
How are they going to enforce [the ban]? Could they fine those who violate it? Would they rely on the public to report it? I think enforcement is going to be tough.
It’s not the first time authorities have imposed a temporary smoking ban on Dihua street.
Most smokers were willing to put out their cigarettes while the ban was in place last year, but some say it’s not a sustainable solution if the ban just drives them out of the area.
It's fine. If that's the policy I’ll just [smoke] somewhere else. If the city government installs [a smoking area] then we’ll go there. But I don’t see any now.
Among non-smokers, putting up designated smoking areas is also a divisive issue. Some worry about their sanitation, while others say they’d help prevent cigarette butts littering the streets.
We’re different from Japan. If you want a designated smoking area [you’d need] Japan’s law-abiding awareness. But Taiwan isn’t like that. People tend to litter cigarette butts.
Directing smokers to a designated area might actually reduce the environmental harm caused by cigarette butts.
Meanwhile some residents of Dihua street worry a designated smoking area could affect the neighborhood.
The smoking area in the park wasn’t approved by our representative. He suggested putting it [nearby]. I don’t like that idea, either. Why? Because it’ll be useless. It would be too far from the main street.
With less than two weeks to go until the ban takes effect here, city officials will be looking to see how effective it is and how this trial can be expanded for the whole city.
Residents and businesses around Dihua street are still deciding how many designated smoking areas there will be, and where to put them. Until then, smokers will have to look for other places to light up and prepare for a potential city-wide street ban.
