Smoking ban impact minimal, study shows

A statewide smoking ban enacted last year had little economic effect on Arizona’s bars and restaurants, according to the results of a new study by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Despite what opponents of the ban expected, few businesses surveyed cited the Smoke-Free Arizona Act as their main cause for economic hardship.

The study, which was conducted by Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, used sales records and surveys to collect information. The surveys and sales records both show no major trend that would suggest the smoking ban had a negative economic effect on bars and restaurants.

The study found bars were four times more likely to list the smoking ban as a major cause for declining sales than restaurants.

Of the 450 businesses surveyed in 2008, less than five percent said the smoking ban was the biggest factor impacting their business.

Almost 30 percent of businesses said economic conditions had the biggest impact, while nine percent said gasoline prices were to blame for losses.

Chris Kuhlman, a 27-year-old Tempe bar patron and regular smoker, says his bar attendance has not been affected by the smoking ban. Bars accommodate to smokers with outdoor patios and seating, he says.

Kuhlman said the ban is a step in the right direction. "Servers don’t need to suck down second hand smoke from their patrons," he says.

One establishment that was surveyed for the study revealed that business was actually better since the smoking ban, due to their ample outdoor seating.

Gavin Rutledge, managing owner of Tempe’s Casey Moore’s, says the citywide ban in Tempe initially hurt his business. But Rutledge built an outside bar for the customers on the patio, who are primarily smokers, and because of their willingness to adapt business is booming, he says.

Rutledge says he understands that people like to smoke when they are drinking. "I am one of the few bar owners that will tell you that I like the ban though," he says. "I care about my employees. We’re like a family and they don’t need to be surrounded by the smoke."

Rutledge says he has noticed an overall downward trend in smoking in recent years. "You have to go out back now to smoke," he says. "It’s like leprosy."

Though 38 of the businesses that were surveyed in 2007 had closed by 2008, none of them said the smoking ban was the reason for their doors closing.

In 2008, some establishments also cited DUI and employer sanctions laws as major factors contributing to economic hardship.

Tom Rex, Assistant Director at the Center for Competitive and Prosperity Research at ASU, worked on the study for the ADHS. He says the study tried to limit bias because it "requires respondents to bring [the ban] up themselves with an open ended question."

Rex also says the recent economic downturn made analyzing the sales data more complicated because it changed too many variables, such as consumer spending and employment, during one fiscal year.

The data also showed a sharp decrease in revenue around the winter holiday season. The decrease is cyclical, according to the study, due in large part to increased retail spending and seasonal residents leaving.

A press release from the ADHS said that businesses and smokers have both been compliant with the act.

In the release, Bill J. Pfeifer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association of Arizona, says the study shows that bars and restaurants can co-exist successfully with the smoking ban. "My hope is that Arizona will now become one more example of how the creation of a smoke-free state can be done without having a serious impact on local businesses," he says.