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Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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The study also found that air pollution levels had decreased sixfold in bars and restaurants after the ban went into effect, and that New Yorkers had reported less secondhand smoke in the workplace.
"It really confirms that New York City is now a healthier place to work, eat and drink," said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, commissioner of the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which produced the report along with two other city departments and the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Data from the city's Department of Finance shows that the money spent in New York bars and restaurants has increased, the report states: from April 2003 to January, the city collected about $17.3 million in tax payments from bars and restaurants, a rise of about $1.4 million over the same period a year earlier.
An average of 164,000 people were employed in restaurants and bars in 2003, the highest number in at least a decade. Since the smoking ban took effect last March 30, employment in bars and restaurants has risen by 10,600 jobs, taking into account seasonal fluctuations, according to the report.
The number of the city's bars and restaurants - roughly 20,000 - remained about the same in the third quarter of 2002 as in the third quarter of 2003. Last year, the New York State Liquor Authority issued 1,416 new liquor licenses to New York City businesses, compared with 1,361 the previous year, the study reports.
The study also found that 97 percent of the more than 22,000 establishments inspected by the city from April 2003 through February were found in compliance with the new law and that 150,000 New Yorkers reported less exposure to secondhand smoke in their workplaces since the ban took effect.
The Health Department conducted an air quality survey of a sampling of bars and restaurants in August 2002 and returned to the locations in May 2003, after the ban took effect, and noted substantial improvement.
Click here to view the report "The State of Smoke-Free New York City" in PDF format
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