Six government departments including the ministries of finance, education, public security and civil affairs as well as the State administrations of industry and commerce and sports jointly issued a document on the weekend banning the sale of lottery tickets to minors.

Minors refer to those under the age of 18 in China.

It was reported that some grocery stores, stationers and street vendors near schools have been selling lottery tickets to primary and middle school students in some areas. The vendors have been taking advantage of the curiosity of minors in the prize draws by making lottery tickets themselves and encouraging students to buy them.

Making lottery tickets without official permission is illegal. Selling lottery tickets to minors is likely to lead them astray by cultivating the mentality of speculation, which the document believes is detrimental to the healthy growth of minors.

The rule bans lottery ticket sellers of any kind from within 200 metres of a school. Those who violate the rule will be penalized.

It is indeed necessary and imperative to protect minors from anything that may have a negative impact on their growth. That is why we have laws and regulations banning the sale of cigarettes and liquor to minors and banning Internet cafes from admitting minors.

But for those vendors who put making money before anything else, minors are a group who are easy to persuade to buy something they are not supposed to have.

Can this ban stop lottery ticket sellers from targeting minors as a source of their profit? Issuing the ban is one thing, but effectively putting it into practice is another.

Both the central and local governments have regulations prohibiting Internet cafes from allowing entry to minors. But watchdogs always find minors in these venues during their inspections. Vendors are banned from selling cigarettes to minors, but it is not unusual to see middle school students dragging on cigarettes.

It is always a start to put a ban in place. Putting up posters about the bans in relevant venues and inspections by watchdogs once in a while do work, but only to some degree.

In such circumstances, apart from strengthening random inspections and inflicting heavier penalties on those who challenge the bans, schools and parents need to co-operate in carrying out the bans.

Schools should educate students not to buy things that they are not supposed to use, and parents need to make sure all the money they give their children goes to its intended purpose.

Minors are the hope of our future and their healthy growth is a matter that can never be overemphasized. We hope that the departments will make earnest follow-up efforts to enforce the bans after they have issued them.

(China Daily December 19, 2006)