The smoking ban in bars and restaurants law took effect in New York in the year 2003. The law stated that there was no one who was supposed to light a cigar, pipe or a cigarette in a café, restaurant or bar but anyone who wished to do so was supposed to do it from outside where the rest of the people could not inhale the smoke. This actually came about due to the effect which the second hand smokers were found to face and it was found out that quite a number of people used to die frequently across the country due to this second hand smoking. Tobacco smoking has been seen so far as one of the leading preventable mankind enemies as it has caused cancer, lung, asthma respiratory diseases, heart diseases and disability to the unborn baby. Non-smokers are greatly affected if exposed to tobacco smoke. This ban in smoking has actually led to a lot of research from the tobacco industry in trying to advocate against tobacco smoking restrictions as they perceive that if the law becomes 100% effective, it will cause quite a steady fall in their profit margin.
Second hand smoking has caused a number of deaths in the restaurants and bars and it is believed to be the main cause of death of a waitress who died due to lung cancer in 22nd may 2006. Medical history concluded that her death was due to environmental smoke which caused asthma. This death is actually the one which led to the need to enact legal protection of workers from second hand smoking.
Smoking in bars and restaurants has also been believed to cause damage in the taste of foods and has also led to the decrease of production to the employees which is mainly due to lack of enthusiasm to workers in their work place. Smoking in restaurants has led to an increase in the insurance bills of the workers. Cases of workers also not attending to their workplaces has been reported as they have to attend to other chores like cleaning cigarette burns and maintenance to the burnt materials like carpets and paints, smoke settling on their lighting equipment thus leading to lack of enough light illumination. Since the introduction of the smoking ban in bars and restaurants, restaurants have recorded quite an improvement in the number of sales of food. Quite a number of the families have been said to be regular customers as it’s now taken as an environment for everybody not only for the bar people. In Virginia, smoking is totally prohibited in restaurants and bars not unless a separate room is provided with a room that has ventilation of its own to the outside and its own entrance from outside of which the room is strictly constructed for smoking and no worker is allowed to work in that room.
In New York, since the law was enacted there has been a steady rise in business receipts and bars and the rate of employment in these places has risen. The restaurant and bar owners feared that this would lead to the fall of their businesses. The research carried out showed that almost all the hotels and bars in New York were all smoke-free and the New York population supported the law. In New York, the smoking ban has been seen as a boost to the hotel and bar business.
Around the United States, the smoking ban in bars and restaurants has got no relation with business openings or closures in alcohol-serving establishments or at non-alcohol-selling enterprises. In states like Delaware and California licenses have increased and there is quite an increase in employment. In Ireland, the law which ended smoking in public places came into force on 29th March 2004 and the Irish government saw a decrease in the level of the licensed trade and the employment field.
In Scotland, studies have shown that this ban has to a small positive change in the field of tax and employment, though in the field of public health there has been a positive effect noted. In Britain, the Chief Medical Officer has noted that this ban can lead to economic growth in the British government and there would be a healthier workforce which would be able to produce more goods and also a decline in the hospital bills. Evidence has shown that smoking bans in bars and restaurants have been proved not to have any negative effect on the business. Bars and restaurants have so far been found to be fully packed with people even after the ban of which was fear to the many.
It’s of my opinion that the smoking ban law should be enforced in all the bars and restaurants all over New York seeing all the endless negative effects the smoking behavior causes to people surrounding smokers and this ban so far has not seen to the closure of any business due to lack of customers.
Reference
New York state outlaws smoking in all enclosed workplaces. Nation’s Restaurant News; New York; 2003; Paul Frumkin.