I objected strenuously, and he said, "Right, it's a non-smoking pub but it's allowed outside." Since we were at the bar, as inside as you could get, this seemed a tad absurd. He resorted to the claim that while he was inside, the smoke was not, since he was exhaling and blowing it outdoors.

I understand the need to remain patient and respectful in China, but my nerves were severely tested during a recent visit to a local hospital to help a good friend who had just undergone a minor operation return home.

Everything seemed smooth and modern, but just as we were leaving the ward I smelt smoke. Pushing open a door to the stairs, I found a group of staff cheerfully smoking.

"It's okay to smoke here?" I asked them.

"Only staff, sorry, but there's a smoking room on the floor below," one told me.

"No, I mean, surely you can't smoke anywhere near a ward," I said.

"We're outside," he said.

"Only just, and this is a hospital," I replied.

"My friend, this is China, relax."

It was a response I heard echoed by many Chinese friends and colleagues when I asked them about the issue. They also told me "Chinese men smoke, always have, always will" and "Smoking is part of Chinese culture." I restrained myself from asking whether opium had been part of Chinese culture too, pre-1949.

Legislation enforcement is necessary but not sufficient. China desperately needs the establishment of moral and ethical values required to move toward a permanent change in attitudes to smoking.

Smokers need to think not only about their own privileges, but about the harm they're doing to those around them.

The author is a visiting professor in brand management at China Agriculture University and teaches marketing and management at Tsinghua University. opinion@globatimes.com.cn