0108 Smoke-Free Olympics

Beijing is talking the talk about cleaning up for the ’08 Olympic Games, but it would appear that at least one segment of the population is not ready to walk the walk: Smokers. China is one of the last havens for the enthusiastic smoker. Despite an ambitious promise from the government of a “smoke-free Olympics” the market here is 350 million…and growing. So when a restaurant chain called Meizhou Dongpo responded to a call to make restaurants smoke-free, they quickly found themselves in trouble. Diners deserted the restaurant, flocking instead to the place across the street where they could light up with impunity. You know, we hear China is trying to ban smoking in government offices, too: maybe we’ll soon see politicians rushing to Tennessee where the “smoke ‘em if you got ‘em” policy still pertains. #ceas #china #hacker #tsutsui