Smoking like a Beijing chimney

I'm off the wagon.
Having kicked the habit in March 2004, I'm back to smoking passively again. Sigh. Wheeze.
Earlier this month, students tried to con me into believing that smoking was banned in public places in China.
Their argument went that it has long been prohibited to smoke in bars, restaurants, and universities - it's just that nobody obeys the law.
I bought into their logic on the basis that the police enforce laws in a random, spur-of-the-moment kind of way, and most regulations can routinely be ignored.
I saw people smoking in a hospital waiting room yesterday: smoking and spitting, spitting and smoking; even though there are signs up suggesting that neither are a great idea. These signs are all for show.
In Beijing's bars, you can get a flashback to pre-smoking-ban Ireland - complete with poor visibility and the 'smelly clothes' after effect. Indeed, to drink in a pub here is to journey back well before March 2004. The ventilation systems in the older haunts around here are pre-1980s. And by that I mean simply that they have doors and windows.
Similarly, walking down the street inhaling throatfuls of smog harks bag to the days before smoky coal was banned in Dublin. My favourite nugget of information - strictly from a Fascinating Fact, perspective - is that traffic cops in China have a life expectancy of 43. Forty fricking three. Imagine trying to get life insurance.
All things considered, Beijing is not a great place to bring your lungs.
However, all is about to change because recently (four hours ago, to be precise), it was announced that hotel rooms and taxis will be smoke-free for the Olympics.
Add to that the ongoing efforts to curb industrial pollution and halve the number of cars on the road in August, and my straining lungs have a lot to look forward to.
Whether enforcement remains an issue will become clear in May when the law is enacted.
However, the fines begin at 50Yuan (€5) - less than the price of 20 cigarattes in Ireland.