Smoke-free Restaurants
Background
Secondhand tobacco smoke is a well-established health hazard that causes lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory ailments, among other health problems (6). The 2002 Environmental Health Information Service's 10th Report on Carcinogens classifies secondhand smoke as a Group A (Human) Carcinogen, which is a substance known to cause cancer in humans. There is no safe level of exposure for Group A toxins (10). Each year, secondhand smoke causes an estimated 53,000 premature deaths among nonsmoking Americans (6).
Food service workers have less protection from secondhand smoke than any other group of employees. For example, the level of secondhand smoke in restaurants is approximately 160-200% higher than in offices that allow smoking (9). Many lawmakers have been hesitant to ban smoking in restaurants, fearing an adverse economic impact on business. However, eliminating smoking in restaurants protects employees and patrons alike from the hazards of secondhand smoke, without negative consequences for the establishment's overall sales. For example, a recent study of the smoke-free air ordinance in El Paso, Texas, found through examination of taxable sales of items (such as meals and alcoholic beverages) during the 12 years prior to and one year after the implementation of the ordinance that no change had occurred in sales (5).
Policies
Pass local ordinance creating smoke-free restaurants.
Smoke-free workplace laws, including restaurants, have become increasingly popular in recent years, and are the only way to completely eliminate secondhand smoke exposure among nonsmokers. Over 165 local communities in 15 states have enacted laws requiring restaurants to be smoke-free in their entirety, including the bar areas of restaurants (2). For a list of these smoke-free communities, please visit the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation website at http://www.no-smoke.org/100ordlisttabs.pdf.
Pass state law creating smoke-free restaurants.
Eight states – California, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Utah, Florida –have enacted laws requiring restaurants to be smoke-free in their entirety, including the bar areas of restaurants (3). In addition, five of the above states require bars to be smoke free. In July 2004, Idaho eliminated smoking in all workplaces, including restaurants, except stand-alone bars and bowling alleys (3, 4).
Encourage local restaurants to voluntarily adopt a smoke-free policy.
Restaurant owners do not have to wait for their local or state governments to enact a law requiring their establishments to be smoke-free. Many restaurants are voluntarily smoke-free in order to protect the health of their employees and patrons (For a sample of smoke-free restaurants and restaurant owner quotes on why they chose to adopt a smoke-free policy, please visit the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation at http://www.no-smoke.org/economic%20benefits%20quotes.html).
In addition, by implementing smoke-free policies, bar owners may find that such policies can be beneficial for business. A survey taken in Tempe, AZ found that 57% of the individuals polled were more likely to visit a smoke-free restaurant, while another survey in Gilbert, AZ found that 62% of respondents were more likely to go to a restaurant if they knew it was smoke-free (1).
Effectiveness Data
Regulations requiring restaurants to be entirely smoke free are recommended because they are the only way to protect the health of nonsmoking patrons and employees.
The implementation of smoke-free ordinances has not been associated with adverse economic effects on restaurants, based on credible, peer-reviewed studies that looked at impartial sales tax data (8). New York City's restaurant and bar industry grew by 10,000 jobs in the months following the implementation of the city's Smoke Free Air Act in March 2003 (7). The 2004 Zagat's New York Restaurant Survey found that nearly six times as many people were eating out more often since the law went into effect than those who were eating out less often (11). Similarly, total restaurant and bar revenues did not decline in El Paso, Texas, after the city implemented a smoke free restaurant and bar law in January 2002 (5).
Contacts
Americans for Nonsmokers Rights
2530 San Pablo Avenue, Suite J
Berkeley, CA 94702
Phone: (510) 841-3032
Fax: (510)841-3071
Email: anr@no-smoke.org
Website: http://www.no-smoke.org
Dian Kiser, Director
BREATH - The California Smoke-Free Bar Program
5495 Carlson Drive, Suite D
Sacramento, California, 95819
Phone: (916) 739-8925
E-mail: breath@jps.net
Web site: http://www.breath-ala.org
Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution (GASP)
2885 Aurora #37
Boulder, CO, 80303-2252
Phone 303-444-9799
E-mail: gaspco@aol.com
Web site: http://gasp.somedec.com
References
- Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. (2003, January). Patron Surveys and Consumer Behavior. Available online at: http://www.no-smoke.org
- Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. (2004, January). Municipalities with Local 100% Smoke-free Laws. Available online at http://www.no-smoke.org/-100ordlisttabs.pdf
- Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. (2004, January). Summary of United States Population Protected by 100% SmokeFree Air Laws. Available online at: http://www.no-smoke.org/SummaryUSPopList.pdf
- Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. (2004, April 5). Idaho Workers to Breathe Easier - Law Allows Local Communities to Protect All Workers from Secondhand Smoke. Available online at: http://www.no-smoke.org
- Huang, P. (2004, February). Impact of a Smoking Ban on Restaurant and Bar Revenues - El Paso, Texas, 2002. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 53(7): 150-152.
- National Cancer Institute. (1999). Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke: The Report of the California Environmental Protection Agency. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph, 10. Available at: http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/tcrb/monographs/10
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Communications. (2003, July 23). Employment Up in City Bars and Restaurants Since Implementation of the Smoke-Free Air Act. Avaiable at: http://nyc.gov/html/doh/html/public/press03/pr081-0723.html
- Scollo, M, Lal, A. (2001, November). Summary of Studies Assessing the Economic Impact of Smoke-Free Policies in the Hospitality Industry. Vic Center for Tobacco Control, Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria. Available online at: http://www.vctc.au/tc-res/Hospitalitysummary.pdf
- Siegel, M. (1993). Involuntary smoking in the restaurant workplace: A review of employee exposure and health effects. JAMA, 270(4):490-3.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Toxicology Program. (2002 December). Report on Carcinogens, Tenth Edition.
- Zagat. (3002, October). Spending, Tipping Up, Closings, Service Gripes Down, Newcomers Gather Steam, Great Year Ahead, Smoking Ban Fuels Dining Out, Bottled Water Given the Boot - 71% of Diners Prefer New York Tap. PR Newswire. Available online at: http://www.no-smoke.org
Acknowledgements
Cynthia Hallet, MPH, Executive Director, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, Berkeley, CA
Dian Kiser, M.S., CFRE, Co-Director, BREATH, American Lung Association – East Bay, Sacramento, CA
The Center for Health Improvement also acknowledges the following reviewers for providing comments on the original version of this policy profile:
Michael P. Eriksen, Sc.D., Former Director, Office of Smoking on Health, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA
David Fleming, M.D., Former State Epidemiologist, Oregon Health Division, Portland, OR
Sally Herndon-Malek, Former Director, Project ASSIST, DHHS, Raleigh, NC
Philip Huang, M.D., M.P.H.,Chief, Bureau for Disease and Injury Prevention, Texas Department of Health, Austin, TX
Kevin Keane, Director, Federal Legislative Advocacy, American Cancer Society, California Division, Sacramento, CA
Jon Lloyd, Director, Tobacco Control Program, Planning and Policy, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, CA
Paul Minicucci, Former Executive Director, California Next Generation Tobacco Control Alliance, Sacramento, CA
Jane Pritzl, Former Field Director, Assist Project, Division of Prevention Programs, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado, UT
Randy Schwartz, American Cancer Society, New England
Updated 6/30/04
