Restaurateurs Lighten Up?

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Abstract
Early data regarding New York City restaurant-consumers' behavior show that, in the four months after the enactment of the city's Smoke-Free-Air Act in April 1995, many smokers dined out less often and spent less time dining when they did go out. At the same time, nonsmokers-who constitute a majority of the general population-dined out more often, making up for any lost revenue from the decreased patronage of nonsmokers. A strategy of total smoke-free dining may accommodate as much as 83.5 percent of the population (all nonsmokers and smokers willing to dine in smoke-free environments). That target market is responsible for nearly 80 percent of consumer restaurant spending. While smokers who flout the law or avoid smoke-free restaurants altogether may be the biggest spenders, they are nevertheless a small percentage of the population, accounting for nearly 2.5 times less restaurant revenue than nonsmokers.

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