The world is an ashtray

study on NewYork City's smoking ban published in the April 1996 CornelI Quarterly drew a quick rebuttal from the National Smokers Alliance (NSA). This special-

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interest group engaged no less an authority than Michael K. Evans, founder of Chase Econometrics and now a professor at Northwestern, to write a lengthy denouncement of the study. Professor Evans's executive summary of his rebuttal appears on this issue's letters page, and the analysis itself (and the original study) is posted on our web page <~http://hotelschool.cornell.edu/pubs2/pub.htmb. I'm sure NSA also has provided similar rebuttals to other research that has come to the same conclusion as the NewYork City study that restaurateurs would not be seriously hurt by a smoking ban (e.g., a study of suburban Austin by the Centers for Disease even a glimmer of truth in its position. to have the restaurant operator deterControl; a study in Hagstaff, Arizona, The tobacco industry, for instance, mine how to handle smoking in her by a professor at Northern Arizona seemingly spends all its time knocking or his establishment, rather than turn University; and a finding by Zagat down anti-smoking studies. It would to government regulation. Leaving Guides that eating out had increased be refreshsuch a decision with the restaurateur, in the six ing if, say, however, could put that person in the months followPhilip tough spot of having to choose which ing the impleMorris group to favor.Just as government mentation of conducted edict many years ago spared automothe NewYork bile manufacturers from the pain of a study that ban). For the found that having to decide whether to install record, NSA smoking is seatbehs, so NewYork City's restaurastrenuously teurs are off the hook for determining not only a objects to the how to handle the smoking issue. really neat proposition that smoking bans thing but do not hurt it's good for As it happens, much as I personally dislike tobacco use in all forms, I find restaurateurs. you. a smoking ban such as the one enacted in NewYork City to be The communication from the NSA I recently discovered that this kind of reminded me of an unfortunate aspect anti-debate extends to such seemingly heavy-handed. If we must have government mandates, then a policy of today's public debate. That is the benign activities as recycling. A letter to the editor in our local newspaper like the one here in Ithaca, which presence of an armada of organizarequires separate smoking and nontions formed to present a single facet excoriated educators for failing to tell their students the downside of smoking areas, makes more sense. of a pressing issue. These groups go Non-smokers should be protected recycling. It causes pollution! End of by many names (e.g., think tank, from having to inhale smoke from coalition, association) designed to assertion. (The letter writer also other diners, whether that smoke is wanted school children to know the make a reasonable person believe that coming from the next table or from a truth about acid rain: it's not a probthey are something other than what separate smoking section in the same they are, which is essentially propalem any more.) room. If the restaurant can set up its ganda organizations.We don't know, The point about recycling would be for instance, whether NSA is truly a ventilation to move smoke out of the more useful if it were articulated in a group of individual citizens who wish building, however, I can live with the form that would engender enlightidea of having smoking and nonto assert their putative right to smoke, ened discussion, say, the relative merits smoking sections in a restaurant. or whether it's a front for Lorillard or and problems of using virgin resources 1
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I~RNBIL HOTELANDRESTAURANTADMINISTRATIONQUARTERLY-October1996