The John Tung Foundation slammed the Taipei Zoo on Saturday for maintaining outdoor smoking areas inside its complex, saying the city zoo has set a bad example for the campaign against smoking.
Lin Ching-li (林清麗), a foundation section chief in charge of tobacco hazards control and prevention, said the foundation has received complaints from a number of citizens in recent weeks about the presence of outdoor smoking areas inside the city zoo.
One of those complaining said he didn’t know how to explain the concept of a smoking ban to his young children when people were lighting up in the zoo’s “smoking areas” despite a sign at the zoo’s main entrance clearly stating that smoking is not allowed inside its compound, Lin said.
A survey by foundation staff showed that there are three smoking areas inside the zoo, with one close to its main gate and another close to vending machines in its temperate zone animals area, Lin said.
Although the new version of the Tobacco Hazards Prevention and Control Act (菸害防治法) that completely bans smoking in 13 types of venues will take effect on Jan. 11 next year, the city zoo has yet to install posters or signboards inside its complex.
“It seems to me that zoo administrators do not think that any improvement is needed with regard to its duty to discourage smoking and create a smoking-free environment inside its compound,” Lin said.
Yao Su-yuan (姚思遠), dean of Chinese Culture University’s College of Law, said the revised anti-smoking act clearly defines which places will be subject to a complete smoking ban and which will be allowed to set up an outdoor smoking area.
The city zoo, which accommodates 4 million visitors annually, likely falls within the category subject to a complete smoking ban because its main visitors are children and their parents, and its main function is for public education, Yao said.
Even if zoo officials don’t consider the zoo an educational place, they should not install smoking areas in locations that most zoo visitors pass by, Yao said.
Lin said that education should be the zoo’s primary mission since it is placed under the city’s Education Department.
Responding to the foundation’s criticism, Taipei Zoo director Jason Yeh (葉賈森) said zoo officials would step up anti-smoking publicity in the future as smoking is detrimental to people’s health.
Nevertheless, he said, visitors to the zoo include parents and regular smokers. In consideration of their needs, he said, the zoo must still maintain smoking areas.
But he promised that the smoking area near the zoo’s entrance would be closed and new areas in more “remote places” would be designated.
“We’ll add a no-smoking mark on the zoo’s admission ticket,” Yeh said.
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