Hotpot chain fined for allowing diners to smoke inside

A restaurant of Chinese hotpot chain Haidilao has been imposed an administrative penalty for violation of Shanghai's anti-smoking law.

A resident tipped off authorities that three diners smoked at the restaurant on Moyu Road S. in late October and restaurant staff failed to intervene.

The act violated Shanghai's anti-smoking regulations, according to the Jiading District Administration for Market Regulation.

The restaurant was fined 5,000 yuan (US$785) by the administration.

Shanghai has launched smoking-control campaigns in recent years, and the adult smoking rate has declined for the past seven years in a row. The rate was 19.4 percent last year, one of China's lowest on record.