A recent article from Reuters talks about the difficulties that China's first smoke free business faces.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing's first smoke-free restaurant chain faces going out of business after its customers deserted it in droves after the ban was enforced, state media reported on Friday.
The Chinese are the world's most enthusiastic smokers, with a growing market of more than 350 million, making it a magnet for cigarette companies and a focus of international health concerns.
[...]
Beijing, set to mark the 200-day countdown to the Olympics on Monday, has yet to issue clear rules on smoking bans, despite Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao promising a "smoke-free Olympics."
Along with spitting, and not queuing, Olympic organizers fear Chinese people's tendency to smoke anywhere at any time could taint the country's image in foreign eyes.
China banned smoking in taxis in October and launched a drive to ban smoking in hospitals, schools, and government offices last year.
But resistance to the campaign has been fierce.
Beijing authorities had written to 30,000 restaurants asking them to put smoking bans in place, but not a single one had taken up the suggestion, the paper said.
Public smoking is something that I have a problem with because of respiratory problems. I generally can't go to in cafes, restaurants or other areas where people are smoking. I wonder if China will be able to reduce public smoking in time for the coming 2008 Olympics.
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Smoking in China
Just living in many Chinese cities is probably equivalent to being a smoker because of the pollution.
Lousy manners
I doubt the Olympics would change Chinese habits much. Chinese can have horrible manners. And I'm saying this as someone of Chinese heritage!
But
During my time in China I found people to be extremely profit-oriented and wonder if many there would change if money could be made from it somehow. Businesses would definitely lose money in China if they became smoke-free.
My town mack in MA was one of the first in the country to ban smoking at all bars and restaurants and owners were against it at first, thinking that people would go to neighboring towns. In the end, most places are now smoke free and bars are just as packed as always.