When the going gets tough, the tough gets... smoking? Just ask Angelababy, who’s been getting all sorts of bad press this year, from the criticism about her acting, to her supposed lack of hygiene, and to those pesky rumours that she and her husband Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming are headed for divorce.

This time round, the mother-of-one’s reputation has gone up in smoke after new pics of her smoking in a hotpot restaurant in Shanghai were posted online two days ago (Nov 4). Fun fact: smoking indoors is illegal in China.

Angelababy was spotted having dinner with her friends when she decided to light up during her meal.

Did the 30-year-old really think she would not be spotted? After all, it's not the first time she's been caught puffing a ciggie in public, which was what happened back in 2008. After that faux pas, Angelababy announced that she was going to quit smoking. She said then: “I am aware that smoking is not a good thing and I’ve been wanting to quit. After seeing these reports, I am even more determined to do so.”

However, it’s clear that she has yet to kick the habit, as she has been snapped puffing away by the paparazzi a number of times over the past decade. Earlier this year, she was seen lighting up outside a hospital after a visit to treat her finger which she had injured during the filming of a variety show.

Netizens did not take too kindly to Angelababy’s broken promises, criticising her for not sticking to her word (“She doesn’t change, does she?”) and for being a lousy role model (“What a bad influence, smoking indoors as a public figure. )

But her fans came to her defence with the inane explanation that “smoking suppresses cravings for food.” “She does it so that she does not eat too much. It’s sad, but that’s how people stay thin in her line of work,” a fan wrote.

Then there's the issue of her husband, Xiaoming, 42, recently fronting an anti-smoking campaign.

“I’m participating in the anti-smoking movement. For the health of China, I love you. Here’s to a healthy China!” he wrote on Weibo. Um, how liddat?