Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Smoking Bans Help Business

Despite warnings to the contrary, restaurants did nicely in Clayton in the first year of the city's smoking ban.

"The Clayton scene is alive and well and, most importantly, more healthy, than it has ever been," said Mayor Linda Goldstein, who advocated the ban to protect public health. Sales tax revenue from restaurants is up slightly, and the number of restaurants is increasing, Goldstein said.

The ban on smoking in restaurants and other public places went into effect July 1, 2010.

City officials said that from July 2009 through April 2010, the city took in $1,677,269 in sales tax revenue from restaurants. From July 2010 through April 2011, the restaurants collected $1,684,029 in sales taxes, an increase of about $7,000.

Clayton's ban was followed by St. Louis County and city of St. Louis bans that went into effect on Jan. 2, 2011. Both the city and county bans include exemptions for establishments that do not sell much food.

Scare tactics like the photo above turned into false advertising.  Smokers, take note.  Smoke free businesses make more money.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_59c309fd-48cb-5462-81c8-8b576279a995.html#ixzz1cT6kqeVK

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:44 AM

    Since what you have is working, leave the bars ALONE! But this is not the agenda of pro ban. First the restaurants, then the bars, then the parks. Bars are closing in Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska, ALL places that do not exempt bars. It is the end of the American dream for these long term business owners.

    That picture above is NOT a scare tactic. It is an empty bar. It is NOT a restaurant.

    Mayor Goldstein may want to tell the public about her relationship to the pro ban lobbyists. About how she and the Council had private meetings with pro ban long before ANY announcement was made to the public. LONG before ANY public comment was allowed.

    And she may want to prove how the health of the public has been improved.

    Pro ban said that health care costs would go down after a ban and that heart attacks would drop. That has not been the case in ANY place that forced a ban. NOT in Kansas, NOT in Colorado, NOT in Michigan, NOT in Florida, NOT in Illinois, NOT in Nebraska, NOT in Ohio.

    Since the media will not do their jobs and report the truth about this, and I am assuming that it is because of the advertising dollars from the pharma company that funds all this propaganda to further the sells of their Nicoderm, Nicorette, Nicotrol, Nicoderm CQ, and Commit Lozenges, people who WANT to know the truth and, after learning it, want others to know about all the lying going on by elected officials, and once respected charities, who are now paid off lobbyists for pharma, we who want the truth out, are doing the best we can to let citizens know.

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  2. Anonymous10:46 AM

    restaurants do alright- bars CLOSE

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