The Smoking Ban: Clear Air, Murky Economics

[NashVegas]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/28/nyregion/28SMOK.html?hp

Many bar owners and managers say the smoking ban has hurt business, eroding profits and, in some cases, forcing them to cut back hours or lay off workers. Others say they have seen virtually no effect.

Some restaurants and bars say that business is fine — even thriving, as the economy improves — particularly in places where food is a main draw. Further, a vast majority of New Yorkers have said in recent polls that they are happy with the new law.

...

The city chapters of the New York State Restaurant Association mailed out a survey to more than 900 members and found that 88 of the 115 city businesses that responded said they had a decline in bar sales since the smoking ban, and 58 said they had a decline in food sales. In addition, 76 reported that their employees had an unfavorable reaction to the ban, while 18 reported a favorable reaction.

Similarly, an October study commissioned by the Vintners Federation of Ireland interviewed 300 bars and nightclubs in the New York region and found that 66 percent reported fewer customers since the smoking ban, while 15 percent reported more. In all, 78 percent said the impact of the ban on their businesses had been negative.

...

Sales representatives for wine and liquor companies say the impact has trickled down to them.

They say business has dropped between 20 percent and 40 percent since the smoking ban. Similarly, an association for operators of jukeboxes, pinball machines and other games says that revenues have fallen between 10 and 25 percent at bars and nightclubs in New York City.

Nothing concrete, just interesting factoids.

[lcordero]

1. what is worse is that

it is customers that will NEVER come back.
A customer is not going to come back when they can get cheaper cover charges and cheaper drinks in New Jersey.

[cally]

2. California has a smoking ban

and has had one for years. You can't smoke in restaurants and bars. Most have survived fine but it was a very difficult transition for everyone.

[NashVegas]

3. California Is Not New York

California has banned pretty much everything that's bad for you for years, while New Yorkers looked on, amused and baffled at all the people-control laws. NY's enterpreneurs were creating their own solution, via non-smoking bars where the policy was set by owners, not busy-bodies.

New York smokers now pay over $5.00 a pack due to all the sin tax.

If the legislature is going to do this, they may as well add an exhaust tax on all gas-consuming vehicles and spread the pain.

[NashVegas]

4. Oops - is there a mod in the house?

This was posted to the wrong forum, should be in plain-old GD.

[SheilaT]

5. Let me see now,

somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of all adults DON'T smoke. I guess every single one of the smokers goes out every single night to a bar or restaurant, and practically none of the nonsmokers does. At least that's the only explanation I can think of for why a smoking ban would put bars and restaurants out of business.

All I know is that in my social group, the smokers in the group wind up in the non-smoking section with the nonsmokers, NOT vice-versa.


Oh, oh, oh! Another thing. Why is it that there is always a much longer wait for the nonsmoking section than for the smoking section? Is it because nonsmokers are taking up smoking places? Yeah, that must be it.

Plus, of course, the last time I went to California there was not a single restaurant or bar open in the entire state. Jeez, it's hell having all nonsmoking. Other than being able to breathe clean air. I wonder what all the former restaurant and bar workers are doing these days.

(sarcasm off)

I am so goddam sick and tired of the "if we ban smoking all the restaurants and bars will close down" threads and editorials and letters to the editors that I could scream. Show me ONE restaurant or bar that closed down because of smoking bans and I'll show you a badly run establishment. Smokers, GET OVER IT. You stink and the rest of us don't want to be around you and when you get cancer or heart disease you'll get no sympathy from me.