New York City
New York’s Smokefree Air Act came into effect in March 2003. After the first year of being smokefree, a report on the impact of the legislation found that:
- Business tax receipts in restaurants and bars were up by 8.7%.
- Employment in restaurants and bars increased by 10,600 jobs
- New Yorkers overwhelmingly support the law
- Tests showed that the air quality in bars and restaurants improved dramatically
The 2004 Zagat New York City Restaurant Survey of nearly 30,000 New York restaurantgoers found that almost a quarter (23%) of respondents were eating out more often since the introduction of smokefree legislation.
Ireland and Scotland
There is also comparable evidence of the benefits of smokefree legislation for the hospitality industries in Ireland, which went smokefree in 2004, and similar evidence is emerging in Scotland since their smokefree legislation was implemented in March 2006.
The Irish Office of Tobacco Control reported in December 2004 that compliance levels with the new law were high – 94% in hotels, 99% in restaurants and 91% in licensed premises. Similarly high levels of compliance are reported in Scotland.
England
Many pubs and restaurants in England that have already introduced a voluntary smokefree policies report an increase in trade and profits. A recent survey for The Times, published in October 2006, found that amongst English pubs that have already banned smoking:
- Profits have risen by an average of 50%.
- Food sales have risen by 80% on average.
- 9 out of ten landlords reported that they were selling more food.
- Nearly half of landlords said that drinks profits had increased by 37% on average, while a third said they had stayed the same.
In their latest survey of members, The Federation of Small Businesses found that 25 per cent of business owners thought that a ban on smoking in public places would not adversely affect their business, compared with just 4 per cent who did foresee a negative impact. This survey collected information from close to 19,000 Federation of Small Businesses across the United Kingdom, and was conducted in September 2005.
A survey of 501 business decision makers in England conducted by Continental Research in August 2006 found that:
- 89% of all businesses, and three-quarters (74%) of hospitality businesses predict that smokefree legislation will be easy to implement.
- 36% of hospitality businesses believe that creating a smokefree workplace will have a positive impact on the company, 45% believe it will not change anything, whilst only 17% believe it will have a negative impact.
