Smoke-Free Dining Experience
... smoking, according to the National Cancer Institute. Most smokers don’t stop patronizing smoke-free restaurants, according to surveys of more than 8,000 smokers in California, New York, Wisconsin, and Texas” (01/15-5). In fact, smokers are not likely to stay long after their meal due to the desire of wanting a cigarette. For restaurants, this would enable quicker seating, along with satisfied customers. Another important aspect is the danger of a fire is greatly reduced. 4.4 percent of fires in restaurants, from 1990-1994, were the direct result of smoking. Sadly, the fires caused several injuries, and one death (ASH 01/15-5). Non-smokers must remember that the rights of the smoker have already been limited. Many years ago, smoking was allowed almost everywhere without any restrictions or limitations. But, with the growing demands of the non-smoking population, the government stepped in making it illegal to smoke in most enclosed public spaces. As one can imagine, this has irritated the smoking population. Most restaurants have limited the number of areas where they allow smoking while some have preferred to go completely smoke-free. The majority of smokers have followed the restrictions knowing that there are still areas that allow smoking. A non-smoker must comply with the freedom to smoke within the designated areas, whereas, smokers must be considerate to the fact that smoking is a disturbing habit for the typical non-smoker. As expected, there are challenges that arise due to the transition from a smoking restaurant to smoke-free facility. A visibly upset woman approached the vice president of sales and marketing, Jon Greenawalt, with Lyon’s Restaurant. She continues by saying that she not only enjoys the food and service, but the luxurious atmosphere of enjoying a cigarette during her meal. Now with fewer seats for the smoking customer, she felt it ruined her lunch hour by having to wait. Lyon’s Restaurant accommodated her, by adding in a few extra tables to the smoking section, since she was so upset. Unfortunately, there was a decline from 10 percent to 15 percent of customer counts at the forty-one Lyon’s Restaurants (Lorenzini 90). In turn, this brought up many questions about how restaurants will handle going completely smoke-free. Restaurant operators who’ve had remarkable results offered suggestions on how to make this transition a little easier. A few of these suggestions included: sending out a customer survey prior to and after the transition, conducting a press conference with all the local media, be up front about the new policy, put ashtrays outside, and show off your positive results (90). New York banned smoking in restaurants, due to the anti-smoking law, which took effect in April of 1995. Studies since have showed that there has been no effect on job growth, local sales, or income. The studies, which were financed by the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program, in accordance to, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, showed that the restaurant industry rose 18 percent from 1993 to 1997 (Martin). Mike O’Neal, who owns O’Neal’s restaurant, supported the ban at a news conference saying it has helped his business. O’Neal stated, “If 75 percent of people don’t smoke and 25 percent do, that means 75 percent are going to eat out more and 25 percent are going to eat out less.” In another study out of Massachusetts, researchers gathered data to compare restaurants that serve alcohol to those who don’t “Because studies show that people who smoke heavily also tend to drink heavily, one might expect that restaurants that serve alcohol would be disproportionately affected by smoke-free policies,” Bartosch noted. “But that was not the case” (U.S. Newswire). Breathing second...