"smoking ban" news and stories

With all the legislation and lobbying we have here in the United States to get cigarette smokers out of all public areas, you'd never think that banning cigarettes from a restaurant would actually be a bad thing.

That's because we're not talking about the United States, where entire states like California have banned smoking not just from restaurants but in public areas.

We're dining out in China.

In Beijing, customers deserted the city's first smoke-free restaurant chain, Meizhou Dongpo, leaving it with the possibility of going out of business. Apparently, the Chinese are the world's most smoking-est people. This is great news for cigarette companies, but a problem for Chinese authorities that want to "clean up" China's reputation in international eyes.

I don't know about anyone else, but even when I was a smoker a long time ago, I never appreciated second-hand smoke in a restaurant where I was dining.

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David Lebovitz mentioned that France is supposed to ban smoking in restaurants on January 1st, 2007, though the law would still permit smoking in casinos and nightclubs. As happens in every city, state and country that tried to enact such a ban, restaurant and cafe owners argue that it will hurt business, presumably because they think people want cigarettes more than they want food, but studies have shown that a ban is actually good for business. As David pointed out, tables in restaurants turn over slightly more quickly and virtually all customers and employees enjoy a smoke free environment, where it is easier to even smokers to breathe. One more important reason is that food tastes better in a room with cleaner air, where the taste of cigarette smoke is not touching to tongue at every bite.

France is hardy the first country to enact such a ban and it seems extremely unlikely that their restaurant and cafe business would suffer when it has not in so many other countries around the world.

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