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• Olympic Games: can Beijing stop 4m people smoking in public?  

Puffing their way through more than two trillion cigarettes a year, more people smoke in China than any other country. Now the people of Beijing will have to kick the habit as the city tries to clean up its act before the Olympic Games.

Smoking is the latest target of the authorities in the capital, who are already clamping down on spitting in the street and trying to persuade commuters to leave their cars at home. It had long been rumoured that smoking would be banned in most public places for the Games, and officials have now revealed that from May 1 it will be prohibited in all government offices and on public transport. Smoke and you incur a fine of £350.

The rules appear to fall short of an outright ban in restaurants, bars and clubs, but they will have to provide non-smoking areas and hotels must offer smoke-free rooms.

Enforcing the ban will not be easy.

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