Tonight's the last night you can smoke in a NYC restaurant/bar

[Saintly_Loser]

*Originally posted by Barbarian *
**Because most bar owners are convinced that their bread and butter comes from people who smoke-- no matter what reality actually is. It’s hard to convince someone who empties ashtrays that they’d get just as much business if no one smoked in their joint at all.

But experience in cities that have actually gone ahead and mandated no smoking in the workplace demonstrate that no bar loses any money-- because the majority of the population doesn’t smoke, and by banning smoking you actually get people going to bars who weren’t before because they hate the smoke. **

I don’t have any hard evidence to refute this (obviously, there isn’t any yet in New York, what with the law only having been in effect for a few days), but I can offer some anecdotal evidence.

Last night I was in two of my regular spots (for New Yorkers, the Ear on Spring and Washington, and the Library on Avenue A between 1st and 2nd Streets). Both bars were much emptier than they usually are on a Tuesday night, and at both the bartenders told me that they were surprised how few people were at the bar.

It’s still a stupid law. It bothers me. It bothers the staff (and I’m not talking about the owners here – the bartenders who work there. If business is down, their tips are down. I bet they’re really grateful for Mayor Bloomberg’s concern for their health, and they won’t mind the drop in their income) at the bars I know. It’s just annoying and paternalistic.

[Saintly_Loser]

Cecil speaks: the straight dope on second-hand smoke.

www.straightdope.com/columns/000602.html
www.straightdope.com/columns/000602.html

[beagledave]

From the Boston Globe

– Heart attacks in Helena, Mont., fell by more than half last summer, after voters passed a broad indoor smoking ban, suggesting that cleaning up the air in bars and restaurants quickly improves health for everyone, a study has found.
Doctors said their study is the first to examine what happens to public health when people stop smoking and breathing secondhand smoke in public places.

The doctors, themselves backers of the ban, acknowledged that such effects need to be demonstrated in a larger locale. Despite the small numbers involved, they said Helena’s experience offers a clear hint that the change reduces the risk of heart attacks for smokers and nonsmokers alike from virtually the moment it goes into effect.

[jellen92]

I don’t care if they ban smoking in restaurants, but bars for God’s sake? It’s an annoying smelly habit, but I love doing it with a cold brew in my hand. What about the fat stinky guy sitting next to me? Can I throw him out because he’s not a positive influence? After people start getting loud and drunk, they must get kicked out too. Also, people who wear too much perfume should not be allowed in due to someone’s sensitive nasal passages, or anyone who has loud, annoying bratty kids who cry and scream and hurt my sensitive eardrums. They should step outside as well. sheesh*

[handy]

We got that no smoking rule in California a long time ago & they got pretty clever with it. First, to legally get around it, they opened their patios to smoking . Some started private bars, where smoking was legal. Some restaurants ignored the law, but eventually had to comply.