Customers desert China smoke-free restaurant

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.

The occupancy rate at Meizhou Dongpo, a chain serving the spicy fare of southwest Sichuan province, had dropped to "about 80 percent of that enjoyed by other restaurants across the street" after it banned smoking in October, the China Daily quoted its manager as saying.

"We figure that if we're going to die, at least we're going to die honorably," the paper quoted Guo Xiaodong, deputy director of the restaurant chain, as saying.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080118/hl_nm/china_smoking...p8jhMJeldQ9wrJ8Q.3QA

Wait until

quote:

Meizhou Dongpo

petitions for a "level playing field"!

Looks like Meizhou Dongpo's decision was a private one, not coerced by the government, which is cool. Business owners should have the right to make such decisions either way, even if their decisions are bad.

Hell of a note that there's more freedom in China than in the United States, isn't it?