"In bars, you drink, and with alcohol, you smoke," said Mohamad Kheer Ferekh, 27, from Syria, in a crowded bar in Sanlitun, one of the capital's most popular bar areas.

Ferekh, who works in the video-game industry as business development manager, said he started smoking at 16. He says some of his friends are heavy smokers and smoke more than a pack a day, but he is trying to cut down because he is worried about the health risks. Now he basically smokes only when he goes out for a dinner, drinks coffee, or is stressed.

"I smoke in bars more than I smoke at home," he said.