A sharp decline in fireworks sales was reported in Beijing during the Lunar New Year Holiday as residents heed the call to refrain from setting off fireworks so as not to worsen the city's air quality.

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According to the city's public security bureau, only a total of 195,000 boxes of fireworks were bought by residents from January 30 to February 4.  This figure shows a 38 percent drop in sales compared to last year.

Even the length of time that residents set off fireworks was shortened, the bureau said.

The bureau also reported that there were no cases of eye injuries or deaths this year and that the number of residents who sustained injuries due to fireworks also declined by 34.5 percent.

The setting off of fireworks during the Lunar New Year is a time-honored tradition in China.  The practice is said to drive away bad luck and evil spirits.

Due to the worsening air pollution problem in Beijing however, the government as well as environmentalists urged residents through social media to reduce the use of fireworks during the holiday.

This year there were only 1,178 fireworks stores in Beijing, 12 percent less than the previous year's number, according to the city's fireworks authority.

Shanghai also had their own campaign against the use of fireworks. Text messages were sent out by local authorities suggesting the reduction on spending on fireworks during the Lunar New Year due to both safety and environmental issues.

The campaign seemed to be effective since the city's sanitation authority reported that sanitation workers only cleared some 800 metric tons of trash from fireworks on Tuesday.  This shows a reduction of around 20 percent from last year.

By next year, Shanghai residents will have access to more environment and health friendly fireworks with the development of sulfur-free fireworks with low emissions.

Wu Guo-an, spokesman for Shanghai's association of fireworks distributors, said that more residents may opt to purchase this new low emission fireworks after the city experienced a serious smog problem recently.