Study: Workplace smoking ban hasn't hurt
business - Associated Press
June 29, 2004
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The constitutional amendment
banning smoking in virtually all workplaces, including bars and restaurants,
hasn't hurt business, according to a university study.
The University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and
Business Research found that sales were up 7 percent in restaurants and
lunchrooms since the ban took effect last year, while revenues in bars and
taverns exempted from the ban did not change significantly.
The study included 10 months of data, but did not
take facilities' levels of compliance with the ban into account. The research
was commissioned by Smoke Free for Health, a coalition of anti-smoking
interests that pushed for the amendment that voters overwhelmingly approved in
2002.
"The health benefits are clear, but now we
are seeing that what is good for health is also good for business," said
Marty Larson, a Broward County businessman and coalition chairman.
But Florida Restaurant Association spokeswoman Lea
Crusberg said many restaurateurs have lost money, or spent a lot to build
outdoor patios to accommodate smokers. "It's always positive to see
sales go up," Crusberg said. "But not every restaurant in the state
gained."
The tourism and hotel industries were not hurt by
the ban, and there was a 2 percent increase in employment in Florida's leisure
and hospitality industry, according to the study.
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