Several districts in Shanghai have put regulations asking government officials and leaders to stop smoking in public into force, according to the Shanghai Morning Post on Friday.

The Environmental Protection Bureau of Jing'an district has led the way in "forbidding smoking inside its office building".

Pudong New Area encouraged its female civil servants to persuade their male colleagues to kick the habit.

The new regulations state that government buildings are not allowed to sell or provide tobacco on their premises.

But the new regulations have yet to influence sales of tobacco in the city, the newspaper reported.