Taipei City Installs Negative-Pressure Smoking Rooms; New Taipei City Declines to Follow

Taipei City recently launched negative-pressure smoking rooms, prompting KMT New Taipei mayoral candidate Lee Shu-chuan to call for a similar initiative. When asked in the city council today whether the city would follow suit, Mayor Hou Yu-ih and the Health Bureau both stated they would not, emphasizing their commitment to creating a smoke-free city by designating more non-smoking zones. Taipei City has already launched five such smoking rooms. Recently, Mayor Chiang Wan-an and former Deputy Mayor Lee Shu-chuan inspected the smoking room at Zhongshan MRT Station. Lee proposed a policy to create smoke-free commercial districts, suggesting the New Taipei Christmasland as a pilot area. DPP Councilor Chang Chia-ling pointed out during today's interpellation that New Taipei Christmasland is already a non-smoking area. She also cited reports that the smell of smoke from Taipei's smoking rooms is detectable from 15 meters away and that maintenance in Ximending relies on nearby KTV operators. She argued that Taipei's trial has been ineffective. Tourism Bureau Director Yang Tsung-min noted that while the Christmasland is smoke-free, a small, separate area is designated for smoking. Health Bureau Director Chen Jun-chiu stated that New Taipei follows the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act by designating non-smoking areas such as parks, schools, medical institutions, and convenience store arcades to eliminate secondhand and thirdhand smoke. Mayor Hou stated that while creating a smoke-free city is a common goal, different approaches can be discussed. New Taipei has already designated over 14,000 non-smoking areas, the most in the country, and will continue to work toward the goal. When pressed on whether the city would reconsider, both Hou and Chen emphasized that there are no such plans at present.