Although the strictest smoking ban in the history of Beijing, which took effect on Monday, cannot be expected to establish a non-smoking public environment soon, it is feasible for the awareness of smokers to be considerably raised about the harm their habit can cause to others, non-smokers in particular.

More than 1,000 inspectors checked government departments, hospitals, schools, hotels, restaurants and recreational venues on Monday to make sure that the ban was being implemented to the letter. The first fine was issued to a chain restaurant. Such inspections will last for three days.

However, the habit of smoking dies hard. It is unrealistic to expect the city's 4 million smokers to abide by the ban overnight.

The hotline 12320, which was opened on Monday to receive complaints about smoking in indoor public venues, received more than 30 calls complaining about smokers defying the ban on Monday morning. Such calls will no doubt have a deterring effect on some smokers, and may instil scruples in some at lighting up in an indoor public venue.

It is unrealistic to expect the municipal government to permanently maintain a large team of inspectors to enforce the ban because of the cost involved. And although the ban stipulates that the management of public venues such as restaurants and hotels have the obligation to dissuade people from smoking or report them to the authorities, there is little hope of their effects.

However, the ban will increase awareness about the dangers of smoking and especially the dangers of passive smoking, which an alarmingly high number of smokers are unaware of.

For non-smokers, they will have more awareness about protecting their right not to be the victims of secondhand smoke by making calls to the hotline either about smokers in public or the public venues that fail to stop people from smoking.

Three gestures are also being promoted for residents to show their objection to smoking. One is to put one hand over one's mouth to tell the smoker that he or she minds smoking in his or her presence, another is to put one finger underneath the palm of another hand to tell the smoker to stop and another is to say no to smoking by extending a hand with palm facing the smoker.

All these will help create an atmosphere, in which smoking in public venues will be disdained as uncivilized behavior.