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Posted: 12:20 PM Dec 2, 2007
Taverns Hurt by Smoking Ban
LAS VEGAS Revenue has dropped at many taverns - as much as 30 percent in some locations - because of a decline in customers, shooed away by the state smoking ban in establishments that serve food.
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The standard response from antismokers is to dismiss all such claims as excuses from incompetent owners who were going out of business anyhow. They "prove" that everything is fine because "overall" revenues don't decline. That's the wrong question. One should be whether the rate of increase of revenue has slowed down. Another should be whether the rate of business closings has increased. Another should be whether owners raised their prices in response to the ban to compensate; that's a survey I've NEVER seen, and I wonder if the owners would provide a straight answer.