Restaurant investigated after smoking diners exposed on-line

A restaurant in Beijing's Chaoyang District is under investigation after it was accused of failing to take sufficient steps to stop its customers from smoking, reported the Beijing Youth Daily on Thursday.

The two tables where the argument broke out between customers about smoking on January 27, 2018. [Photo: Beijing Youth Daily]

On January 31 several government departments, including the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, opened investigations into the Yangdaye hotpot restaurant after customers at two tables got into an argument on January 27. A woman at one table asked customers at a nearby table to stop smoking, but they refused. The woman filmed the argument and published it online, complaining that the restaurant staff did not take effective steps to stop its customers from smoking.

During the investigation, the manager of the restaurant claimed that the smokers were successfully stopped from smoking on one occasion, but that they later resumed smoking.

Restaurant staff show investigators the record of the restaurants smoking prevention activities in January. [Photo: Beijing Youth Daily]

According to national regulations that came into effect on May 1, 2011, smoking is prohibited in indoor public places including restaurants and hotels. Businesses are responsible for displaying no smoking signs and face fines if the anti-smoking regulations are violated.

Beijing's municipal government implemented its own anti-smoking laws on June 1, 2015. Described as the "strictest smoking ban in history", the laws prohibit smoking in indoor public places, workplaces, and on public transportation. If restaurants fail to take sufficient steps to stop customers from smoking, they face fines of between 2,000 to 10,000 yuan (between 318 to 1,590 US dollars).