The smoke has cleared
Facts and opinions about smoking bans
Elizabeth St. John
Issue date: 2/5/07 Section: News
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In recent years, bans in Fayetteville and throughout the state have prohibited smoking in many public places. Although some people were angry at first, many are unconcerned about the ban now, and Fayetteville businesses continue to thrive.
The Fayetteville smoking ban, which took effect Feb. 1, 2004, prohibited smoking in all public places and places of employment with the exception of bars and retail tobacco stores. This was mainly to protect nonsmokers from second hand smoke.
"The Fayetteville City Council has determined that further restrictions of smoking in enclosed public places and work places are needed to protect the health and safety of citizens and to ensure the right of nonsmokers to breathe smoke-free air," according to the Fayetteville smoking ordinance.
A bar is considered an establishment that primarily sells and serves alcoholic beverages, according to the ordinance. Bars can only sell food and allow smoking if the sale of the food is incidental to the consumption of alcoholic beverages, according to the Fayetteville ordinance.
The Arkansas Clean Indoor Air Act, which took effect in July 2006, banned smoking in all public places in the state except for bars and tobacco stores. Bars that allow smoking must prohibit persons under 21 years old from entering the premises.
Although the Fayetteville smoking ban used the sale of food to help differentiate between restaurants and bars, the state law uses age to determine whether smoking is allowed in bars. "The state law has basically no effect on city ordinances, which remain in effect as long as they are more strict than the state law," said city attorney Kit Williams, according to the Arkansas News Bureau.
The smoking bans might seem to have been a hindrance to the sale of food at many restaurants, but this has not been the case.
More than two-thirds of Fayetteville restaurants reported higher sales after the smoking ban in 2004, according to a May 2005 study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Sam M. Walton School of Business. Sales increased by about six percent after the ban, according to the study.
The Fayetteville smoking ban, which took effect Feb. 1, 2004, prohibited smoking in all public places and places of employment with the exception of bars and retail tobacco stores. This was mainly to protect nonsmokers from second hand smoke.
"The Fayetteville City Council has determined that further restrictions of smoking in enclosed public places and work places are needed to protect the health and safety of citizens and to ensure the right of nonsmokers to breathe smoke-free air," according to the Fayetteville smoking ordinance.
A bar is considered an establishment that primarily sells and serves alcoholic beverages, according to the ordinance. Bars can only sell food and allow smoking if the sale of the food is incidental to the consumption of alcoholic beverages, according to the Fayetteville ordinance.
The Arkansas Clean Indoor Air Act, which took effect in July 2006, banned smoking in all public places in the state except for bars and tobacco stores. Bars that allow smoking must prohibit persons under 21 years old from entering the premises.
Although the Fayetteville smoking ban used the sale of food to help differentiate between restaurants and bars, the state law uses age to determine whether smoking is allowed in bars. "The state law has basically no effect on city ordinances, which remain in effect as long as they are more strict than the state law," said city attorney Kit Williams, according to the Arkansas News Bureau.
The smoking bans might seem to have been a hindrance to the sale of food at many restaurants, but this has not been the case.
More than two-thirds of Fayetteville restaurants reported higher sales after the smoking ban in 2004, according to a May 2005 study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Sam M. Walton School of Business. Sales increased by about six percent after the ban, according to the study.
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dave
posted 2/05/07 @ 2:37 PM CST
afflac
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