Not long ago, the incident of actor Xu persuading a man to smoke in a restaurant went viral on Weibo. According to Red Star News, the revised "Regulations on Public Place Health Management" will come into effect on January 20th. The first item of Article 2, "This Regulation applies to the following public places," has deleted five places: restaurants, horse drawn shops, cafes, bars, and tea houses. The ban on smoking in indoor public places has sparked heated discussions. For a long time, the phenomenon of "swallowing clouds and exhaling smoke" in indoor public places has been criticized. Some people have been suffering from secondhand smoke for a long time and believe that smoking indoors, regardless of whether there are explicit prohibitions or not. But some people also wonder why smoking is not allowed in places where no smoking signs are posted? In addition, some places turn a blind eye and lack initiative to ban smoking, which actually gives smokers "confidence" and makes them arrogant in the face of good advice, even resorting to verbal and behavioral violence against dissuasors. The experience of actor Xu shows that although many people believe that "smoking is prohibited in indoor public places" is a consensus, not everyone can consciously practice it, and there are still vague areas in fulfilling the responsibility of smoking control. One of the major controversies lies in the definition of "public places". Many experts have expressed that the above regulations mainly apply to health management and do not apply to the general scope of tobacco control enforcement. If it is believed that restaurants and other places will not be able to ban smoking, it may be a misinterpretation. Although most places' tobacco control regulations do not define public places, many have established multi departmental enforcement mechanisms. For example, Shanghai has clearly stipulated that the tobacco control work in catering establishments is supervised and enforced by the market supervision department. In fact, the current smoking ban standards, punishment criteria, and enforcement standards vary in different regions. In view of this, there has long been a call in society for the introduction of a specialized national tobacco control law and regulation. Smoking bans in public places should not be controversial, but it is easier said than done and a long way to go. The "Healthy China 2030" plan proposes to gradually achieve a comprehensive smoking ban in indoor public places... by 2030, the smoking rate among people aged 15 and above will be reduced to 20%. From this perspective, it is crucial to further strengthen tobacco control propaganda, improve system design, clarify standards and regulations, and create a smoke-free and healthy public environment. For "public places", the list is obviously not exhaustive. It may be better to adopt the broadest understanding in the sense of public cognition. In local practice, if possible, it should be banned, and all should be banned, truly making civilized smoking conscious - which is exactly what tobacco control work and public health need. (New Society)