A smoke-free restaurant is a dining establishment in which the act of smoking is specifically barred. These restaurants are growing in popularity due to the tobacco prohibition movement. In the U.S. many states have enacted a complete smoking ban in all restaurants and bars including: California, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Montana. Parliament in the United Kingdom has passed an act to ban smoking in all UK restaurants by summer of 2007. A more complete list of smoking bans finds hundreds of jurisdictions have enacted bans on tobacco consumption in a variety of places.

Directly correlated benefits of smoke-free restaurants

• Reduction of heart disease deaths. Medical research demonstrates that second hand tobacco smoke causes 35,000 to 40,000 excess deaths per year in the U.S. alone.^*
• Research suggests that the thought of more smoke-free restaurants is attracting patrons. A study in New York reports that 96 percent of those surveyed are dining out "as often" or "more often" since a smoke-free dining ban was established ^*.
• Results in a multitude of benefits for the management and safety of the restaurant, including decreasing the sick time of employees, limited liability of harm to employees and patrons, and decreased risk of fire hazards^*.
• Results in reduction of carbon monoxide, a contaminant present in tobacco smoke. Increased levels of carbon monoxide has been shown to cause headache, chest pain, alteration of blood pressure and nausea^*
• Reduction in Workers Compensation claims and fire insurance premiums^*
• Reduction in synergistic adverse impacts in some locations that also have other environmental exposure health risk factors such as noise pollution and light pollution.
• More customer rotation as people do not loiter in the restaurant.

Worldwide Context

The European community lags behind Canada and the U.S.A. in implementation of smoke-free restaurants. This is not surprising in that air pollution dispersal and control technology leadership has long rested in the U.S.A., and in that per capita smoking is notably higher in Europe. Smoke-free restaurants have been common in the U.S. since the early 1990s, and many states have passed laws outlawing smoking in all restaurants. Some states such as Washington have achieved their smoking ban laws through the initiative process, rather than by legislation. In addition to statewide bans, many large U.S. cities have banned smoking in restaurants such as Chicago and Washington DC.

Nevertheless, limitations on smoking in restaurants are appearing in England, Scotland, Norway, Ireland and Spain. In fact the United Kingdom Parliament has voted to ban smoking in all restuarants within the UK by summer of 2007; significant fines of up to 2500 pounds sterling would be imposed upon licensees violating the ban, as well as a fifty pound fine on the smoker. In 2003 the New Zealand Parliament passed the Smokefree Environments Amendment Act which eliminates smoking in restaurants and pubs, and also places limits on smoking in other public places. In an interesting follow up study in New Zealand, restaurant patrons did not show a decline, and dining out has actually increased for non-smokers.

The contrarian view

Some restaurant owners and patrons as well as some tobacco manufacturers argue that banning tobacco smoking in retaurants deprives smokers of their access to smoking for a period of time. They also argue that restaurant patrons ought to be able to freely choose whether to enter an environment which poses health risks such as heart disease and cancer. Some patrons also suggest that smoking is an attractive adjunct to their dining experience. One British politician has stated it is unfair and inconsistent to allow prisoners to smoke and not allow the general public to smoke in restaurants (Van Rooyen, 2006).

Some others, such as libertarians say that while smoke free restaurants may have economic benefits for the restaurant that the restaurant should be free to choose for itself and should not be forced to ban smoking by the government.

See also

• Air pollution
• Coronary heart disease
• Indoor Air Quality
• List of smoking bans
• Tobacco smoking
• Smoking ban

Bibliography

• Center for Disease Control (CDC), Annual smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost, and productivity losses---United States, 1997--2001. CDC publication MMWR 2005;54:625--8.

• CDC, State laws on tobacco control---United States, 1998, CDC publication MMWR 1999;48(No. SS-3):21--62.

• K. Steenland, Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 267 No. 1, January 1, 1992

• Tracy Van Rooyen, Smoking ban: The great divide, Chester Chronicle (UK), Feb 17, 2006

• US Department of Health and Human Services. Reducing tobacco use: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2000.

• US Department of Health and Human Services, Second national report on human exposure to environmental chemicals, Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2003. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/2nd/pdf/tobaccosmoke.pdf.

• Portley PM, Caraballo RS, Pederson LL, Pechacek TF, Exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace: serum cotinine by occupation, J Occup Environ Med 2002;44:503--9.

External links

• U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC)
• A list of current bans on restaurant smoking, city by city.
• A petition for the banning of smoking in restaurants in Michigan, including information and statistics.
• List of benefits of smoke-free restaurants (PDF File).
• "Michigan Smoke-Free Dining Petition Drive". Retrieved July 18, 2005.
• "Benefits of a Smoke-Free Restaurant". Retrieved July 18, 2005.

Tobacco control | Health risks