The government may impose a national ban on smoking in public places, expanding on municipal bans in some major cities including the capital Beijing, International Business News reported.

Beijing has had a ban on smoking in restaurants and other public venues since last May, but enforcement has been lax. Lawmakers nonetheless are considering a country-wide ban that could be rolled out as early as next year, the story said, citing Yang Jie, deputy director of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Tobacco Control. China has about 300 million smokers. The state controls production, sale and tax of tobacco products, making the industry a major revenue source for the government.