Taichung City Government, the first in Taiwan, has made non-smoking areas outside the gates of high schools to protect students, staff, and visitors from the harms of second-hand smoke for health reasons. Mayor Chih-Chiang Hu (胡志強) has personally posted no-smoking banner outside the gate of National Taichung Girls’ High School on Sept. 14th.
Out of the 50 high schools and vocational schools in Taichung City, 24 have agreed to establish non-smoking areas outside the gates. The school environment should be free from secondhand smoke because teachers and staff are role models for students. Campus police will patrol and enforce the expanded smoke-free campus rules.
“Effective immediately, those who smoke outside the gates against advice will be fined between NTD2,000 (USD68) to NTD10,000 (USD341) by the city inspectors,” said Mei-Na Huang (黃美娜), Director-General of Health Bureau in Taichung City.
“We are focusing on the first 24 high schools for now and will establish non-smoking norms and culture before every school and hospital in the city to have the same expanded smoke-free ordinance. The goal is to minimize the harms from second-hand smoke and to encourage smokers to quit.”