Smoking Bans are Good for Business
- by Mary Shaw
www.OpEdNews.com
I like to visit New York City. I enjoy the hustle and bustle, the
interesting people, the sights, the food, and the night life.
Many other cities offer a similar degree of fun, excitement, good
food, and intrigue, but with one notable difference: I can't hang
out at a bar or nightclub without leaving there smelling like a
dirty ashtray.
The smoking ban in New York was introduced in March of 2003.
It affects bars, restaurants, and other establishments such as pool
halls and bingo parlors.
Now my hometown of Philadelphia is considering a similar ban, and
neighboring New Jersey may be doing the same at a statewide level. I
say let's go for it.
Let me relax at a local bar with my friends on a Saturday night
without having to shower as soon as I get home to remove the stench
from my hair and skin. Let me enjoy an evening out on the town
without the scratchy throat and the itching eyes. Give me a break
from the exorbitant dry cleaning bills that I pay to get the smoke
odors out of my suits, sweaters, and coats.
But enough about me. After all, I am just a customer, and I can
choose to stay away from smoky bars. But consider the plight of
restaurant and bar workers who have to endure a smoke-filled
environment through every shift. If a factory had the air quality of
the average bar on a Saturday night, OSHA would likely shut it down
in an instant - and rightly so. Is it not unethical to expose
employees to such an unhealthy environment? We see class action
lawsuits being filed all the time on behalf of employees whose
health has suffered from working in asbestos laden buildings. When
will hospitality workers be similarly compensated for their forced
exposure to dangerous cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoke?
Better yet, let's just give them a break.
Smokers who oppose the ban often claim that they have a right to
smoke. Excuse me, but their rights end where the next person's
rights begin. Smokers have every right to smell bad if they want to.
They have a right to destroy their own lungs, and they have a right
to yellow fingers and teeth. But they do not have a right to force
me to ingest their smoke, and they do not have the right to endanger
the health of the bartenders and waitstaff who serve them. It is
rude at best, and perhaps reckless endangerment at worst.
Bar and restaurant owners who oppose these bans fear that they'll
lose customers if their patrons are not allowed to smoke. However,
similar fears by their New York counterparts have proven to be
unfounded.
An analysis of the New York smoking ban by that city's health
department showed that business and tax receipts in bars and
restaurants were up by almost 9 percent after the first year of the
ban. In addition, it showed that employment in such establishments
had increased by over 10,000 jobs (the highest such increase in more
than 10 years), along with an increase in alcohol licenses. This is
undeniably great economic news for New York's hospitality industry.
The study also found that New Yorkers are now breathing
significantly cleaner air. One year after the ban took effect,
levels of cotinine, a by-product of nicotine which is used to
determine exposure to second-hand smoke, had decreased by 85 percent
in non-smoking bars and restaurants.
These smoking bans are vitally important in terms of our health.
Also, as demonstrated by the New York study, they will likely also
boost business by attracting customers who, like me, prefer to avoid
smoke-filled venues. And, perhaps best of all, it will give smokers
another incentive to kick the habit and improve their own lives.
I encourage Philadelphia, New Jersey, and all other municipalities
and state governments to follow through and implement these
important measures. What do we have to lose but the soot in our
lungs?
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Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and activist. Her views on
politics, human rights, and social justice issues have appeared in
numerous online forums and in newspapers and magazines worldwide.
E-mail
mary@maryshawonline.com .
Read more of Mary's writing in the archive:
http://www.opednews.com/archivesShawMary.htm
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