A shopping center in China rolled out an extraordinary measure after smoking in restrooms hardly improved. It replaced the stall doors with glass that turns transparent when cigarette smoke is detected.
On the 25th, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) highlighted restrooms at the Shubei International Center and Shubei Pearl Building shopping center in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, which recently drew attention on local online communities.
During a recent remodel, the shopping center replaced part of each restroom stall door with frosted glass. Normally, it looks like ordinary frosted glass, but when it detects smoke, a few seconds later it turns transparent so the inside can be seen.
The shopping center also posted a notice in the restroom that reads, "If you smoke, the glass becomes transparent. If you don't want to become famous online, refrain from smoking."
Shenzhen strictly bans indoor smoking in public places. The shopping center is also a smoke-free building. However, it said it has long struggled because smoking in restrooms has hardly decreased.
China's internet users expected it could stop restroom smoking, but worried the frosted glass could malfunction. The shopping center said, "To prevent potential invasions of privacy, we set the smoke detector to respond only to smoke," and explained, "If the sensor activates by mistake, we plan to install a reset button near the glass."