Happier, healthier employees and guests prove smoke bans are better for business

Nation's Restaurant News, August 7, 2006 by Tim Zagat

Since my wife, Nina, and I started publishing Zagat Survey guides in 1979, we've found that people often have widely differing points of view--sometimes even about the same dish eaten at the same restaurant on the same night. In fact, there are very few issues of taste about which people of all ages, genders and geographic regions can agree.

That's why it catches our attention when an issue garners the overwhelming support of the public. And it is clear from our surveys that the vast majority of Americans prefer their restaurants, bars and clubs to be smoke-free.

As a result, a growing number of states and communities have passed legislation to make all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, smoke-free. In doing so they have stood on the side of public opinion, as well as sound economic and public health policy.

In the 27 years we've been publishing Zagat Surveys, we've come to know the in-depth preferences of consumers when it comes to dining, nightlife, travel and leisure activities. Our local surveys are based on the responses of thousands of people, and they are good barometers of public opinion and hospitality industry trends.

We surveyed more than 115,000 people for our 2006 America's Top Restaurants guide and found that 89 percent of Americans think smoking should be banned in restaurants. Of those respondents, 39 percent said they would dine out more if smoking were banned, while only 3 percent said they would dine out less. The majority--58 percent--said their dining habits would be unaffected.

Opponents of smoke-free laws argue that these laws would hurt small businesses. The opposite is true. I spent three years as the chairman of NYC & Company, the official marketing, promotion and tourism arm of New York City. In that capacity I watched New York transition into a smoke-free city and witnessed the positive impact the law had on our restaurants and nightlife. After the law took effect, our 2004 New York City survey found that 96 percent of New Yorkers were eating out as much--or more--than before. Moreover, business receipts and employment increased for restaurants and bars, the number of liquor licenses increased and virtually all establishments were complying with the law.

The New York experience is the norm, not the exception. Economic impact data from cities from Minneapolis to El Paso, Texas, and states from Massachusetts to California have found that smoke-free laws, far from having any negative impact on bar and restaurant business, usually have had a positive impact.

Across the nation business continues to flourish in culinary and tourism hot spots that are covered by smoke-free laws. Fourteen states, Puerto Rico and hundreds of cities, including such tourism mainstays as Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Boston, Hawaii, and San Francisco, all are covered by smoke-free workplace laws that include restaurants and bars, and, without exception, they are thriving.

According to the American Society of Travel Agents, nine of the top 10 U.S. travel destinations are covered by strong smoke-free laws. Communities that fail to pass smoke-free laws are putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage with these popular destinations.

The positive effects from smoke-free restaurants and bars go beyond increased customer satisfaction. Eliminating secondhand smoke from the workplace also reduces maintenance costs and increases worker health productivity. Smoke-free laws that cover all workplaces, including bars and restaurants, are the best way to protect all workers and patrons from secondhand smoke, while maintaining a level playing field for all hospitality businesses.

But these dollars-and-cents results only support the most important reason for passing comprehensive smoke-free laws--the well-documented health benefits.

Secondhand smoke contains at least 69 known carcinogens, and has been scientifically proven to cause lung cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses. Health experts estimate that secondhand smoke causes more than 38,000 deaths nationwide every year. Given the surgeon general's recently released report showing that even brief exposure to secondhand smoke is harmful, hospitality employers have even more reason to pay attention.

In addition, studies have shown that foodservice workers have a 50-percent greater risk of dying from lung cancer than the general population, in part because of the high level of secondhand smoke exposure in the workplace.

I know that in addition to building a successful business, restaurant and bar owners care about creating a healthy environment for both workers and patrons. For both physical and financial health reasons, restaurant owners everywhere should ban smoking in their establishments and support local laws to make all workplaces smoke-free.

Tim Zagat is the co-founder and co-publisher of the Zagat Survey guides.