In article <46EEDC85.CCA3ED66@sympatico.ca>, adavidsmith@sympatico.ca
says...
> That seems to vary from one area to another. According to one site I
> checked, 60 of Ottawa's 210 bars closed after the smoking ban was imposed,
> and bars in New York reported that business fell by as much as 40% after
> the ban. A lot of drinkers also smoke. As the article suggests, if bars
> believed that banning smoking in their business would increase revenues
> they would be doing it on their own.
>

My guess is that your source is wrong. It's telling that it does not
cite a single reliable source, and not even an unreliable source, to
support the so-called "facts" it lists. A few moment's of reading
convinced me that the site is a front for the ventilation industry.

I have read numerous news stories reporting that business was not
harmed, and may have been improved, by smoking bans. Yes, many bar and
restaurant owners were fearful of such bans, and I can understand why.
But, in my extensive reading on this subject I have not seen a shred of
evidence (note that I say evidence, which is different from
unsubstantiated claims) that this actually happens.


--
Peter Aitken