The local consumer pricing supervision bureau of Zhangjiang in east China’s Jiangsu Province has issued a warning to a restaurant in the city that has started to bill customers a fee for breathing purified air.
The bureau conducted an investigation following complaints from citizens who said the restaurant charged customers "purified air fees" without informing them of these fees ahead of time, the Global Times reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the restaurant purchased an air purifier to "improve the dining environment" and charged customers 1 yuan ($0.15) to recoup the cost of the machine.
Air is a natural resource and it is the restaurant's obligation to offer a good environment for customers and should not "sell purified air" to them especially if they did not ask for it, an official from the pricing bureau was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
The restaurant owner's lack of knowledge over pricing regulations was the main reason for charging purified air fees, the official said.
The bureau asked the restaurant to rectify its policies within seven days.
The news triggered widespread discussion on Chinese social media, as hazardous air pollution currently enveloping China's northern regions has led more citizens to become concerned about air quality.
"I am willing to pay if the restaurant does buy an air purifier to improve the indoor air quality, but the restaurant needs to notify customers in advance," a Chinese netizen was quoted by the Global Times as saying.
Other online users expressed their dismay over having to pay for clean air to breathe.