North Korea introduces smoking ban in public places

North Korea on Wednesday introduced smoking bans in some public places to provide citizens with “hygienic living environments,” raising questions about whether the nation’s chain-smoking supreme leader may kick the habit himself. The new law introduced by the governing Supreme People’s Assembly aims to protect the lives and health of North Koreans by tightening the legal and social controls on the production and sale of cigarettes, state media KCNA reported. The law stipulates that smoking is banned in specific venues, such as political and ideological education centres, theatres and cinemas, and medical and public health facilities, according to KCNA. It added that the law indicates penalties for violating the smoking rules. North Korea has notoriously high smoking rates. Some 46 per cent of men smoked tobacco as of 2017, according to a World Health Organization survey. Apparently, no women smoke.