Seoul will expand its non-smoking zones to include more than one-fifth of the city area by 2014, stepping up efforts to reduce health risks from second-hand smoking, city officials said Friday.

At present, outdoor smoking is banned at 23 major parks and plazas across the capital.

Under the envisioned plan, smoking will be banned at more than 9,000 public places by 2014, including 1,910 neighborhood parks,

5,715 bus stops, and 1,305 school zones, said the officials.

The current and future non-smoking zones account for about 21 percent of the capital's gross area of 605 square kilometers, they noted.

The government began its efforts to curb second-hand smoking in earnest when it set up a non-smoking ordinance in November last year, which stipulates that those caught smoking in designated no-smoking areas be fined 100,000 won (US$89.78).

Since then, three public plazas at the center of the city -- Cheonggye, Seoul and Gwanghwamun -- and 20 major parks have been designated as non-smoking areas, while all the capital's 298 bus stops on bus-only lanes will be added next month with a three-month grace period before enforcement, according to the government.

"We will continue our efforts with the goal to designate the whole outdoor areas as a non-smoking zone and instead set up separate places for smokers," Park Ho-yong, an official of the Seoul Metropolitan Government said. (Yonhap News)