Findings You Can Use

Hays, S. (2006). Secondhand tobacco smoke and municipal smoke-free ordinances: Attitudes of restaurant and bar owners and managers. Journal of Drug Education, 36(4), 279-295.

[Link to full article - (153 KB)]

Abstract: Understanding the attitudes of restaurant and bar owners and managers toward a smoke-free city ordinance can contribute greatly to the success of a smoke-free policy campaign. While local opposition to a smoke-free policy always arises from restaurant and bar owners, this study of restaurant and bar owners and managers in two Midwestern cities [Champaign and Urbana in Illinois] reveals that over two-thirds (67.1%) support a smoke-free restaurant policy, and over 40% support a policy that would include bars. Moreover, most prefer the local government to require the city to be smoke-free rather than choose to go smoke-free on their own: only 1 in 5 would even consider going smoke-free independently. The study explains that this is primarily due to widespread and unfounded fears of economic loss. Finally, the article recommends that education campaigns encouraging individual restaurants to go smoke-free would be a far less effective strategy than persuading a municipal government to enact a smoke-free ordinance.

Major Findings

• Most restaurant and bar owners recognized that smoking is harmful to smokers (96%) and secondhand smoke is harmful to non-smokers (85%).
• Most (61%) owners of establishments that permit smoking were concerned about protecting their non-smoking customers from secondhand smoke.
• Owners of establishments that permit smoking were concerned about the economic impact of going smoke free: 57% said it would cost them money, 14% said it would force them out of business, 18% said they would lose more than 20% of business, and 39% expected a decline of 5-20%.
• Of owners of establishments that permit smoking only 19% would consider going smoke free on their own.
• Most restaurant and bar owners (67%) supported a city smoking ordinance and 42% of them supported a policy that would include bars.
• More than half of owners of establishments that permit smoking (56%) supported a city smoking ordinance and 35% of them supported a policy that would include bars.