This is regarding “Smoking ban could have a dire effect on business” (Voice of the people, Sept. 23). California’s hospitality industry has not suffered since adopting the strongest tobacco control law in the nation.
The hospitality industry has continually shown an increase since 1995, when tourists spent a record $55.5 billion, pumping money into the state economy at the highest growth rate in three years, according to the California Trade and Commerce Agency.
In addition, bar and restaurant sales have increased each year since 1995. This fact is confirmed by retail sales data collected by the California Board of Equalization.
Chicagoans should not be fooled. San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, like Chicago, are visited by many foreign tourists and have not suffered economically from the smoking ban.
In fact, the California Restaurant Association co-sponsored and actively supported the legislation that led to the statewide smoke-free workplace law.
Californians, both smokers and non-smokers alike, continue to approve of smoke-free restaurants and bars. Recent polls have shown that 75 percent of bar-goers believe that a smoke-free environment is “very important” or “somewhat important.” Ninety-one percent of bar patrons either go to bars more often or have not changed their bar-going behavior as a result of the law. Bar patrons are also staying longer in bars and are more likely to visit them, now that they are smoke-free.
It’s time to dispel the myths and protect all workers from exposure to the cancer-causing chemicals in secondhand smoke.
