(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-10-02 17:04

Beijing has banned smoking in the city's 66,000 cabs amid efforts to help create a "non-smoking" Olympic Games in 2008.

The ban, effective from October 1, imposes a fine of 100 yuan to 200 yuan (US$13 to US$26) on drivers if they are caught smoking in cabs.

Passengers are also prohibited from smoking in cabs. "If they violate the regulation, their names will be exposed through media, " Ma Yanjie, deputy head of the Taxi Management Department of the Beijing Municipal Transportation Administration Bureau, told Xinhua on Tuesday.

A striking, green color "No Smoking" sign has been posted inside most of the cabs to remind the drivers and passengers.

Most of the drivers and passengers interviewed by Xinhua in the past two days expressed support for the ban.

"As a driver, I myself will surely obey the new regulations, and the passengers will also keep an eye on me," a cab driver surnamed Tian said on Tuesday.  "Likewise, I also feel justified now to stop my passengers from smoking."

"The problem is that I actually have no way to report smoking passengers who turn a deaf ear to me, because I'm not entitled to ask their personal information such as his name and ID card number, and I can't tell him to get off," he said.

The smoking ban in cabs is the latest move taken by Beijing to ensure a "non-smoking" Olympics and "Green Olympics."

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