"This has really been an absolute win-win for Rhode Island," said David R. Gifford, director of the state Department of Health. "We have not seen the drastic horror stories we heard when the legislation was going into effect."  While some bar and restaurant owners were worried about losing business, Gifford said tax revenue generated by restaurants and bars increased by 21 percent during the first four months of the smokefree law, compared with the same period last year.

Air pollution in an average Rhode Island bar before the clean air law was 10 times dirtier than a busy street corner in Chicago, said Carrie Carpenter, a research analyst at the Harvard School of Public Health.  Since the law began March 1, the average number of tiny particles suspended in the air fell 96 percent, according to a state-sponsored study.  Carpenter said researchers focused on particles smaller than 2.5 microns, a size that includes fumes from secondhand cigarette smoke, a carcinogen.  "Those are the ones we can inhale deeply into the lungs," she said.

Some business owners remain unconvinced. Raymond A. Brooks, president of the Neighborhood Pub Association, formed to oppose the clean air law, saw little significance in the tax revenue figures.  "The economy's better this year than last year, so that's a natural increase in restaurant revenue," Brooks said.

"Rhode Island's results are similar to those in other smokefree jurisdictions," said Joe Cherner, founder of BREATHE (Bar and Restaurant Employees Advocating Together for a Healthy Environment).  "Nine states and hundreds of cities have gone smokefree.  The data is strong that clean air is good for business."