Chinese actor holds up his hand in a "No Smoking" gesture and dancers perform in front of anti-smoking banners displayed on the iconic Bird's Nest National Stadium on World No Tobacco Day in Beijing Sunday, May 31, 2015. [Photo: Imagine China]

Beijing will impose the toughest smoking ban on June 1.

World Health Organization (WHO) has honored Beijing for its bold move on World No Tobacco Day that falls on May 31.

The new ban, the country's toughest to date, prohibits smoking in all the city's indoor public places, workplaces and on public transport facilities.

It will also apply to schools, hotels, airports (which will no longer have designated indoor smoking rooms or lounges), and Beijing's many historic tourist spots, including the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

The harshest anti-smoking rules ever to be imposed in China are seen as a trial run for a national law. 18 other cities already have lighter bans.

World No-Tobacco Day

A smoking sign [Photo: nianw.com]

Today is also the "World No-Tobacco Day".

Since the 1950s, many studies have shown that smoking caused lung cancer.

A Video of a Public Service Advertisement from CCTV

Negative Health Effects of Smoking

Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. About 70 of them are known to cause cancer. Smoking cigarettes is the number-one risk factor for lung cancer.

But, smoking can affect your entire body, and is known to cause cancer in many other parts of the body. Smoking is also linked to heart diseases.

Pregnant women who smoke have an increased risk of having a miscarriage. In the meantime, smokers may look older than their age because the smoke can damage one's skin.

Second Hand Smoking

According to expert, the damage caused by exposure to second-hand smoke over 15 minutes every day is equal to the heath damage experienced by smokers themselves.

Second-hand smoking can also cause latent diabetes.

Smoking Bans around the World

The U.S.

A photo of Non-Smoking Sign in the U.S [Photo: ynzy-tobacco.com]

New York is one of the cities that have the toughest tobacco control laws in the U.S.

Shops cannot sell tobacco products to those under 21. This new rule has been in place since November, 2013 in a bid to discourage teenagers from starting to smoke at a very young age.

Russia

A photo of non-smoking sign in Russia [Photo: russia. on-line.cn]

One in three people smoke in Russia. Earlier statistics show that Russia has 44 million smokers.

In 2013, President Putin signed what is seen as the one of the "strictest smoking laws" to date. The law prohibits all tobacco advertisements in public places.

According to the law, smoking is banned in public places.

South Korea

A photo of non-smoking sign in a restuarant in South Korea [Photo: news.sina.com.cn]

The South Korean government raised the price of tobacco products in early 2015.

From January, the price of one box of cigarettes has gone up by 2000 won (about 11.4 yuan). Within 15 days, the total number of people who joined a popular rehab program that helps them kick the smoking habit has topped 100,000.

The South Korean government has continued to open free training courses for people who want to quit smoking.

Japan

A photo of a tabacco advertisement in Japan [Photo: sina.com.cn]

The Japanese government has been provided special counseling services for those who want to stop smoking since March, 2013.

Japan Tobacco Company also decided to narrow its production scale, shutting down 4 factories.

Japan's market for tobacco products have been shrinking gradually as more people are becoming health conscious.

Australia

A photo of non-smoking advertisement in Australia [Photo: 163.com]

Australia raised tobacco taxes by 12.5% per year in 2013.

This policy has increase the tax revenue for the government by 4.8 billion U.S dollars per year.

So the price of one cigarette in Australia is about 1 yuan, which is more expensive than the price in other countries.