On May 1, China became the latest country to join the club of nations with a total ban on public smoking.

Great news, or is it? Sadly, government legislation is one thing but consumer culture, traditional habits and "interpretation" and "enforcement" often result in a very different reality.

As I am a consumer researcher based in China since the 1990s, you can imagine my cynicism when it was announced that from May 1 all public spaces would have a smoking ban imposed, and that this legislation would, unlike previous regulations, be clearly and strictly enforced. I was surprised, and mildly optimistic, when a friend of mine told me that he had been refused an ashtray at one of the most popular pubs in Beijing!

With this is in mind I decided to judge for myself when I paid a recent visit to one of the many pubs in Beijing. I was struck immediately by the absence of ashtrays on the tables and several new, extremely conspicuous "No Smoking" signs. But as the evening went on, the pub soon filled with smoke, and I asked the bartender what was going on.

"It's a no smoking bar, not a no smoking pub," he claimed. "You can't smoke at the bar, but you can smoke elsewhere."

"But that guy's at the bar and smoking," I pointed out.

"He's standing," the bartender claimed, "The ban is only if you're sitting."

"He just sat down!" I exclaimed.

"But he started smoking while standing, and he's a regular."

Despite my disappointment I remained positive and moved on to another popular Beijing boozer. I arrived to be greeted once again with an ashtray-free pub and "No Smoking" signs everywhere, but at the bar my non-Chinese neighbor promptly struck up a light.