SHANGHAI: Only a strict law, violating which would attract stringent punishments, will keep public venues free of tobacco fumes, local health experts said.

At a China-Australia Tobacco Control Symposium held at the Shanghai-based Fudan University yesterday, health specialists and scholars studied and discussed the two nation's achievements and challenges on tobacco control.

"Although the city has made improvements in smoking control in public venues in the past decade, people still complain about exposure to passive smoking, as places like restaurants and hotels are not included in the existing rule," said Zheng Pinpin, Associate Professor at Public Health School of Fudan University.