Ministry of Health and Welfare: Smoking Ban in National Parks and Scenic Areas Starts April 1; Kenting Spring Scream Also Enforces the Policy

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Smokers, take note！The Ministry of Health and Welfare has officially announced，Starting April 1, smoking will be prohibited in national parks, national nature parks, scenic areas, and forest recreation areas—except in designated smoking zones. In locations without designated smoking areas, smoking will be completely banned. This new measure applies to national parks such as Yushan, Yangmingshan, Kenting, and Taroko. For the Kenting Spring Scream event in April, popular sandy beaches with large crowds, including Nanwan and Houwan recreation areas, will also be smoke-free except in designated smoking zones.

▲ Beautiful Houwan Bay in Kenting. (Photo / Provided by Kenting National Park)

According to the announcement, smoking-prohibited areas mostly include outdoor public spaces such as visitor centers, recreation areas, forest camps, and administrative offices.Fully smoke-free zones include places like Shoushan National Nature Park.. After the new regulations take effect, national-level scenic areas under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, such asthe North Coast, Sun Moon Lake, and Alishan, will also enforce the same smoking ban standards..

In addition, county- and city-level scenic areas, forest recreation areas or farms under the Council of Agriculture’s Forestry Bureau, forest recreation areas established by the Veterans Affairs Council, and experimental forests of National Taiwan University will all adopt the new policy. Moving forward, popular destinations such as Cingjing Farm and Wuling Farm will also prohibit smoking except in designated smoking areas.