SHANGHAI: A new campaign to ban smoking in taxis is part of a wider push to clean up the city's image before the 2010 World Expo.

中国日报上海电:上海出租车将掀起一场禁烟运动,这是上海在2010年世博会前大力推行计划以改变城市形象措施中的一部分.

The Shanghai Dazhong Taxi, a taxi company, said drivers found smoking in their cabs could "possibly" be fined or even temporarily banned from working.

上海大众出租车公司称如果司机在车内吸烟可能被罚款甚至会被暂时停职.

Signs have been placed in all of the taxi company's 9,100- strong fleet saying "No Smoking in Dazhong Taxis, Welcome to Shanghai World Expo".

公司已在所有9100辆出租车上放置了"大中出租车内禁止吸烟,欢迎参加上海世博会"的标志. "For a long time, the sanitation of the city's taxis has been affected by the smell in some cabs," said an official surnamed Zhao with the company.

大中出租车公司一位姓赵的官员说:" 在过去很长的时间里,烟味严重影响了出租车内的公共环境. "

"We hope the sanitation of cabs in the city will be improved through our no-smoking campaign, which is a mutual benefit for both drivers and passengers."

"我们希望通过禁烟运动上海出租车内的环境能得到较大改善,这对司机和乘客都会受益."

Liu Zheng, an office worker who often takes cabs, said the campaign was a positive one.

经常乘坐出租车的上班族刘正认为禁烟运动是个积极的举措.

"Cigarette smoke contains many types of carcinogenic particles which can become trapped in air-conditioners. It is also hard to remove the smell from cars even with all the windows opened."

"烟气中含有多种致癌颗粒,这些微粒会吸附在空调上.即使把车窗全部打开,也很难去除车内的烟味".

Dazhong said it would closely monitor the campaign's progress.

大众公司称他们将密切监视本次运动的执行过程.

Drivers caught smoking will undergo the company's training and inspection program. 司机一旦被发现吸烟,就会再进行公司的培训和接受公司的监督.

Cabs found to have cigarette odor will be "called back", Zhao said.

如果车内发现有烟味就会被召回.

"Of course, we will behave according to the company's regulation, but how about passengers' smoking in the cab?" asked one taxi driver who declined to be named.

一位不愿透露姓名的司机说:"当然,我们会根据公司的规定办事.但如果乘客在车内吸烟怎么办?"

No penalties have been drafted for passengers who breach the no-smoking rules.

目前还没有对乘客吸烟作出罚款规定.

Instead drivers will be responsible for "persuading" them not to smoke.

但司机有义务劝阻乘客不要吸烟.

Many taxi drivers smoke to relax from working long hours. The official conceded it would not be an easy task to achieve a total smoke ban in a short timeframe.

在长时间工作后很多司机都会吸烟来放松一下.公司官员承认在短时间内达到完全禁烟的目标是个艰巨的任务.

"Promoting non-smoking taxis in the whole city is a long journey," Zhao said. "Despite having a long way to go, we are confident of fulfilling our "smoke-free taxi" program in the city through our diligence."

赵说:"在整个城市内推行出租车禁烟运动是个长期的过程但我们有信心通过我们的努力来完成出租车禁烟运动."