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Houston Chronicle Friday, Oct. 25,1996
Smoking ban plan worries many firms
WASHINGTON - U.S. bar and
restaurant owners fear a proposed
ban on smoking in the workplace
will cause them major economic
losses, according to a survey
released Thursday.
The survey found that 83 percent
of bar owners anticipate a loss of
revenue and 81 percent estimate
losses of more than 15 percent.
Nearly half the restaurant owners
and managers polled felt they
would lose money by an outright
ban on smoking.
The National Licensed Beverage
Association, a liquor industry trade
group that sponsored the survey,
said it opposes a proposed
regulation by the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration that would ban smoking in the
workplace.
OSHA said the workplace would
include dining areas, bars, hotel
rooms or anywhere else where
work is performed, so waiters and
waitresses would be barred from
entering.
The survey found that 91 percent
of owners and managers of bars
and 72 percent of restaurateurs
preferred to make their own smoking
policies without government
supervision.
The survey, conducted by the
Roper Starch Worldwide polling
firm, was based on telephone
interviews with 1,300 people and
has a margin of error of plus or
minus 4 percent.
