The global anti-tobacco movement has run into its biggest hurdle yet -- millions of committed smokers in China.
When Beijing was awarded the 2008 Olympic Games, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao promised a "smoke-free Olympics."
On Thursday, officials said banning smoking completely before the Aug. 8-24 Games was "impossible."
Still, officials said new regulations will force sports venues, parks, public transportation and schools to be smoke-free as of May 1.
Smoking bans will not apply to restaurants and hotels, although smoking zones in restaurants and non-smoking rooms or floors in hotels will be required.
One restaurant chain, Meizhou Dongpo, claims to be the first and only eatery in Beijing to ban smoking.
At every table, signs remind customers not to light up.
"The Olympics are coming and we want to do our part to help the city," the manager told CTV News.
But, at another one of the restaurant's nearby locations, patrons are still allowed to smoke.
"We used to eat at the other one but when we eat, we smoke, and so we come here instead," said one customer.
Pressure from hundreds of worried restaurant owners forced Olympic organizers to abandon a complete ban on smoking in public places.
"Smoking is closely related to people's lifestyle, and particularly Beijing has a large smoking population," Li Lingyan, Vice Director of Beijing Legislation Office, told a news conference on Thursday.
"Therefore in some places like catering and Internet cafes, we are not able to completely eradicate tobacco. It's impossible."
Beijing authorities had written to 30,000 restaurants asking them to enforce smoking bans but nobody responded, state media reported in January.
China, which has a state-run tobacco industry, is home to a third of the world's smokers -- estimated at more than 320 million.
The price for one of the cheapest packs of cigarettes is about 30 cents Canadian.
Smokers who violate the new rules will be fined 10 yuan, about $1.40 Canadian.
Based on a report from CTV's Beijing Bureau Chief Steve Chao
Links: