A Chinese airline passenger has received five days detention for smoking an electronic cigarette during a flight on September 7, South China Morning Post reports.
The passenger, identified by his surname Fu, was found vaping in the washroom of an airplane flying from Hangzhou to Changchun. He was arrested by airport police as soon as the plane landed.
This is the second reported incident involving the use of electronic cigarettes during flights in China this year. Back in July, an Air China co-pilot smoked an e-cigarette in the cockpit during a flight, leading the aircraft to plunge 7,600 meters. He and other members of the flight crew were fired in the aftermath.
In recent years, vaping has gained increasing popularity in China, the world’s largest producer of e-cigarettes. But as is common with any new, trending industry, regulations have struggled to keep up.
Also in late July, a female passenger on Beijing’s Metro Line 10 decided it was a smart idea to vape in a train. The decision resulted in a dispute with a man who accused her of causing discomfort to other passengers. The Beijing Metro Company had not implemented any regulations on the use of e-cigarettes inside subways at that time.
Smoking conventional cigarettes in public places such as parks, restaurants, auditoriums in sports venues, shopping malls and public transportation is banned in many Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou; however, laws made by municipal governments have thus far failed to regulate vaping.
READ MORE: The Rise of Vaping in Tobacco-Hooked China
[Cover image via Vaping360/Flickr]
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