Songjiang health authorities issued the city's first citations on e-cigarette violations on Wednesday after it was included in the local anti-smoking statute.

After updating its legislation, Shanghai banned e-cigarette smoking in public indoor places in late October.

Since then, all public indoor venues, workplaces and public transit in the city have banned smoking, including e-cigarettes. The venue can be penalized 30,000 yuan (US$4,361), while individuals can be fined 200 yuan.

The Songjiang government conducted a two-week campaign in shopping malls, entertainment venues and office buildings this month to enhance law enforcement.

For breaking the legislation, four people and two locations were fined 400 and 4,000 yuan, respectively.

Officials briefed violators about the risks of e-cigarette smoking and the need to ban them in public.

To improve public health, the Shanghai Health Promotion Commission will increase education on the updated law and begin inspections.

Shanghai was the first city to ban smoking in March 2010.

The health authorities reported that the smoking rate in the city had dropped to 19.4 percent, meeting the national goal of reducing it to 20 percent by 2030.