New Olympic Event: the 1000m Smoker-Gauntlet Hurdles
Apparently not only will traffic drop and all construction in Beijing cease before the 2008 Olympics, but the Chinese government apparently plans to ban smoking at the Olympics. The details are a little sketchy. The ban could mean anything from disallowing the smoking of cigarettes by competitors during the 100m backstroke to actually banning all smoking within Olympic venues. If the latter, there will likely be formidable and disorderly lines of smokers huffing away at the entrances. Considering that all men in Beijing (and a couple of women) smoke, a lot, this ban could be a very tough one to enforce.
