China's new indoor smoking ban comes into effect

BEIJING – China's latest push to ban smoking in indoor public venues has come into effect, but the vaguely defined new rules are not expected to dramatically reduce the country's heavy tobacco addiction.

The Health Ministry's amended guidelines on the management of public places that now ban smoking in more venues like hotels and restaurants were implemented Sunday.

The guidelines are the latest effort to curb tobacco use in the country with the world's largest number of smokers. Experts say huge revenues from the state-owned tobacco monopoly hinders anti-smoking measures.

But state media reports have cited experts as saying that the ban is likely to be ignored by smokers and operators of public places because it fails to specify punishments for violators.