I thought smoking was banned here

It's apparently a law that you can't smoke in public places in this country. The usual places - malls, restaurants, etc. Until this summer, people were smoking in the malls in RAK, which was absolutely foul. I only went in if I had no other choice. Now at least in one of the malls, there are huge signs saying that it's illegal to smoke inside the mall. If only everyone would listen. You still get a few people lighting up en cachette.

Well, today we ran into some friends in Festival City (a mall in Dubai) and ended up having brunch with them at the Belgian Beer Café. There were ashtrays on EVERY TABLE. And yes, people were smoking in there. Fortunately, not at every table and mostly at the other end of the restaurant from where we were. The only thing I can say is, they must have great ventilation because someone sat down next to us and lit up and no smoke blew in our direction. (And we left shortly thereafter anyway.) Can't a ban just be a ban?