Smoke Free's Effect On Businesses

I live in a State that went smoke-free a few years ago.

Of course, at that time there was a big uproar from bar and restaurant owners, because they bought into the bullshit spouted by Libertarians, addicted smokers, and the sinister tobacco industry. Many of those establishments thought that being smoke-free would negatively impact their businesses, and some fought it tooth and nail.

So, I decided to keep an eye on a local sports bar that I sometime frequent to see just how "bad" their business might be hit by being smoke-free. It's been a couple of years now, and guess what? Just the opposite has occurred.

This sports bar hasn't done anything different that it's done before the ban, but since the ban was instituted, it looks to me like their business has more than doubled. That place has been packed every day of the week for as long as I can remember, and it's happening during a BAD ECONOMY!

As a matter of fact, business has been TOO good. Although I drive by this sports bar at least once daily, I've only visited it a couple of times in the past year or two because it's too damn crowded. It's become too hard to find a place to park, to find an empty booth, and to deal with the crowds.

Ironic, isn't it? All of that effort spent by those businesses in their fight against a smoking ban that eventually turned out to improve their numbers and boost their bottom line.

So, what's the likely reason behind the increase in their business traffic after being forced to become a smoke-free establishment? I think the Wisconsin bar owners in the following video say it best -

Customers who avoided bars and restaurants because of the cigarette smoke, are now coming back because of the smoke-free atmosphere.


Source: Wisconsin is Better Smoke-Free