Turning away guests is never good for business, but that is what waitresses at Meizhou Dongpo are forced to do if newcomers refuse to pocket their cigarette packets and conform to its no-smoking ethos.

An air purifier at Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant in Hepingmen helps dissipate the smell of  nocotine. [China Daily]

Of course, this can have dire consequences on a restaurant's bottom line.

"We figure that, if we're going to die, at least we're going to die honorably," said Guo Xiaodong, the deputy director of the restaurant chain.

"We are happy to be the first Chinese restaurant in Beijing to ban smoking, but we may not be able to afford the drop in customers," he added. "At least we'll be remembered for championing the cause."

Yet Meizhou is already falling victim to its own success. Instead of ashtrays, noisy banter and clouds of thick smoke, it now has clean air, empty tables and eerie silence.

Zhang Xuemei, a senior journalist with a popular Beijing newspaper who lobbied the restaurant to reform its ways, said Meizhou will go down in history as a pioneer for a worthy cause.

"I understand how difficult it is for them," she said. "It just illustrates how much resistance there is to kicking the habit among Chinese smokers."

Zhang got the idea after attending a seminar last year at Peking University on media and tobacco controls. One month later, she lobbied four managers at the Sichuan restaurant to go where no Chinese caterers have gone before in Beijing and just say no to smokers.

"I can't believe I am doing this," she said. "I am supposed to persuade four smokers to clear all of the other smokers from their domain."

It took a while for this to sink in with owners Guo and his colleagues. It was hard for them -- and for anyone -- to imagine that a single restaurant could ignite such an anti-smoking revolution in the city.

Yet there is cause for optimism. About 43.8 percent of smokers welcome the installation of "No Smoking" signs in restaurants, according to a survey released in May in the China Tobacco Control Report 2007.

It just may take a little time to filter through. Last April, for example, the Beijing government wrote to over 30,000 restaurants in Beijing asking them to ban smoking. None of them took up the offer.

Meizhou's ban was put into action on October 8, one day after the seven-day National Day Holiday. "No smoking" table stands replaced ashtrays, and waitresses were trained by top tobacco control officials on how to discourage smokers from lighting up.

"We reminded the staff that they are the worst victims of second-hand smoke," said Jiang Yuan, a senior expert on tobacco control. "So they need to help the guests in order to help themselves."

As part of a global campaign sponsored by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, local students were also sent to the restaurant to test its air quality and show the results to other caterers in the city.

But clean air has come at the expense of profit.

"For the past three months, our occupancy rate has dropped to about 80 percent of that enjoyed by other restaurants across the street," Manager Li Yanmei told China Daily last week.

The ban has even led to some embarrassing violations.

"Guests in the VIPs rooms sometime lock our waitresses out so they can sneak in a quick puff," Guo said. "When the waitresses finally get in, the rooms stink of nicotine."

Waitresses have also found cigarette stubs in the toilets.

"We have lost many guests, but we've also gained new ones," said Guo.