China will roll out tough new anti-smoking laws in the capital Beijing on Monday, making it an offence to light up in restaurants, offices and on public transport.
Health activists have spent years pushing for stronger restrictions and hope the ban will be extended nationwide.
Under the rules, anyone in China’s capital who violates the bans, which include smoking near schools and hospitals, must pay about $40. The current fine, seldom enforced, is just $2.
Anyone who breaks the law three times will be named and shamed on a government website.
Businesses will face much larger fines for failing to stamp out smoking on their premises.
“Restaurant staff have a duty to try to dissuade people from smoking,” Mao Qunan, of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said.
“If they don’t listen to persuasion, then law enforcement authorities will file a case against them.”
The government will also make it illegal to sell smokes in shops located within 100 metres of primary schools and kindergartens, according to state media.
Smoking is a major health crisis in China, where more than 300 million people smoke.
More than half of Chinese smokers can buy cigarettes at less than $1 a pack.