Comment on "Health inspectors express frustration with smoking ban" (China Daily, Aug 23)

In the article, health inspectors express frustration with the smoking ban in public places such as restaurants and hotels. If you are a smoker, you can simply ask for an ashtray in a restaurant or hotel. The smoking ban is not yet strictly enforced in facilities managed by Chinese staff.

So if you are a non-smoker and want to avoid secondhand smoke, you have to look for a facility managed by foreigners.

If you have any doubts about this, just visit any restaurant or pub in Sanlitun, an area full of bars and restaurants in Beijing. You won't find a single smoker in Morel's Restaurant. But you would be free to smoke in a couple of other well-known bars and restaurants.

The key to banning smoking is imposing the directive with sue seriousness.

Gilbert Van Kerckhove, via e-mail

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