Maybe someday, there will be a new island formed just off the coast of Hawaii.Smoking bans don’t hurt businesses but do reduce their health care costs, an Indiana University report has concluded.
The report, compiled by the university’s Center for Health Policy and released Tuesday, reviewed conflicting studies and reports on the subject. It considered bans around the country and in Indiana, including in Fort Wayne.
The report found “strong evidence that smoke-free laws do not harm restaurants, bars, or casinos, nor do they affect tourism and other sectors of business.”
In Allen County, receipts on food and drink purchases rose significantly in the month after Fort Wayne’s comprehensive ban took effect June 1, 2007, and were up a year later, though the latter increase was slight.
But more than a dozen bars and taverns shut their doors within a year of the ban’s effective date, and owners of some bars that remain say revenue has plummeted. They say customer traffic has been hurt by the ban, contrary to the IU report’s conclusions.
IU’s report also found that smoke-free workplaces have reduced absenteeism attributed to smoking-related illnesses and can help employers save money by reducing insurance rates and health maintenance costs.
