Studies Cloud Smoking Ban Issue: Backers, Bars Argue Effect on Business
It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with TPRS that I STRONGLY support smoking bans in public places. I have never seen any reason why I should be forced to inhale cigarette smoke. My desire, and my right, to breathe clean, untobaccofied air should without a doubt trump anyone else's "right" to smoke.
Of course, I realize that this argument is full of holes, and that anyone so inclined can refute the argument without breaking an intellectual sweat. Regardless, I stand by my argument. I should, and do, have the right to a smoke-free environment. If you want to smoke, that is fine- just don't expect me to be OK with the risks (and the stench) associated with second-hand smoke.
One of the arguments against smoking bans is the supposed negative impact that it has on the business of bars and restaurants. As it turns out, the impact may actually be minimal, if not completely non-existent.
Although bar and restaurant owners often claim the bans hurt business, particularly at neighborhood pubs and other small establishments, some economic data and research indicate otherwise.
"These laws either have no impact or are good for business," said Stanton A. Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California at San Francisco....
Bar and restaurant owners are lining up to fight the proposals, saying such bans would damage their businesses....
But information from jurisdictions with smoking bans in place suggest that the worries about slumping business are misguided.
According to tax receipts and dozens of studies, indoor workplace smoking bans have had no effect on the overall fiscal health of the bar and restaurant industry, especially when implemented uniformly on a statewide level.
Although some studies indicate that restaurants and bars are hurt financially by smoking bans, those surveys were funded largely by the tobacco industry or its associates and often used flawed data, according to an analysis by Andrew Hyland, a research scientist at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, who examined 97 studies from 30 states and eight countries.
Independent studies have concluded that smoke-free laws are not bad for business, he said. Hyland's findings appear to be supported by data from governments that have implemented smoking bans.
I would agree that an indoor smoking ban could possibly place some strains on a bar or restaurant. Even so, these businesses operate in an ever-changing and highly competitve environment. Having to adapt to a smoking ban could be a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. Successful restaurants and bars are always in "adapt or die" mode; a smoking ban, if handled properly, should merely be one more challenge.
One possibility ignored by those who protest smoking bans is that there are a number of people out there, like myself, who avoid places BECAUSE of the prevalence of cigarette smoke. A smoking ban may therefore work to open up a new clientele. Yes, change may be difficult in some respects, but when you consider the health benefits of a smoke-free environment, how can this NOT be a good thing?
