[Vision2020] US Surgeon General's Report on Second Hand Smoke: Economic Impact of Smokefree Bars

[Ted Moffett]

Some argue that smoking restrictions in bars will hurt these businesses or
put them out of business.  Of course, there are serious ethical questions
regarding a business that endorses addictive drug use that presents
dangerous health risks resulting in hundreds of thousands of premature
deaths, for the sake of profits.  But to reduce this to a purely economic
analysis, the economic impact of a bar becoming non-smoking is not
necessarily negative.  While those wishing to drink and smoke may not
patronize a non-smoking bar (though they can step outside between drinks for
a smoke, correct?), there are many who avoid smoking bars because of the
smoke.  And given tobacco smoking rates have been declining in recent years,
those who don't smoke and want to socialize and drink in a non-smoking bar
should be a sizable group.

But what have the studies revealed regarding the economic impact of bars
becoming non-smoking?

One of the most well known reports on this subject is a 2006 US Surgeon
General Report on second hand smoke, that looked at the economic impacts of
bars (and restaurants, hospitality businesses) becoming non-smoking, while
also presenting a scientific case that second hand smoke is a very serious
health risk (there is no safe level of second hand tobacco smoke, and
systems to separate smoking and non-smoking sections in establishments are
ineffective).  I offer a list of important medical findings (not economic)
from this report regarding second hand smoke at the bottom.  I could not
quickly locate the exact part of the report regarding the economic impacts,
so I reference other sources to present the conclusions regarding economic
impacts of non-smoking establishments:

 The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report
of the Surgeon General June 27, 2006

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/
--------------

http://www.no-smoke.org/pdf/Economic_Impact.pdf

>From website above:

According to the 2006 US Surgeon General's Report, "The Health Consequences
of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke," adopting smokefree workplace
policies is a wise business decision.  The results of all credible
peer-reviewed studies show that smokefree policies and regulations do not
have a negative impact on business revenues
--------------

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/06/28/secondhandsmoke_hea.html?category=health&guid=20060628090000

>From website above:

And a key argument of some business owners' legal challenges to smoking bans
is that smoking customers will go elsewhere, cutting their profits.

But the surgeon general's report concludes that's not true. It cites a list
of studies that found no negative economic impact from city and state
smoking bans — including evidence that New York City restaurants and bars
increased business by almost 9 percent after going smoke-free.

To help make the point, Carmona's office videotaped mayors of smoke-free
cities and executives of smoke-free companies, including the founder of the
Applebee's restaurant chain, saying business got better when the haze
cleared.

--------------

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/factsheets/factsheet6.html
The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report
of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 6 Major
Conclusions of the Surgeon General Report

Smoking is the single greatest avoidable cause of disease and death. In this
report, *The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A
Report of the Surgeon General*, the Surgeon General has concluded that:

   1. Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still
   exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces despite
   substantial progress in tobacco control.

   Supporting Evidence
      - Levels of a chemical called cotinine, a biomarker of secondhand
      smoke exposure, fell by 70 percent from 1988-91 to 2001-02. In national
      surveys, however, 43 percent of U.S. nonsmokers still have
detectable levels
      of cotinine.
      - Almost 60 percent of U.S. children aged 3-11 years—or almost 22
      million children—are exposed to secondhand smoke.
      - Approximately 30 percent of indoor workers in the United States are
      not covered by smoke-free workplace policies.

   2. Secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in
   children and adults who do not smoke.

   Supporting Evidence
      - Secondhand smoke contains hundreds of chemicals known to be toxic or
      carcinogenic (cancer-causing), including formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl
      chloride, arsenic, ammonia, and hydrogen cyanide.
      - Secondhand smoke has been designated as a *known human
carcinogen*(cancer-causing agent) by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, National
      Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer
      (IARC). The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has
      concluded that secondhand smoke is an occupational carcinogen.

   3. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for
   sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear
   problems, and more severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory
   symptoms and slows lung growth in their children.

   Supporting Evidence
      - Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are inhaling many of
      the same cancer-causing substances and poisons as smokers. Because their
      bodies are developing, infants and young children are especially
vulnerable
      to the poisons in secondhand smoke.
      - Both babies whose mothers smoke while pregnant and babies who are
      exposed to secondhand smoke after birth are more likely to die
from sudden
      infant death syndrome (SIDS) than babies who are not exposed to cigarette
      smoke.
      - Babies whose mothers smoke while pregnant or who are exposed to
      secondhand smoke after birth have weaker lungs than unexposed
babies, which
      increases the risk for many health problems.
      - Among infants and children, secondhand smoke cause bronchitis and
      pneumonia, and increases the risk of ear infections.
      - Secondhand smoke exposure can cause children who already have asthma
      to experience more frequent and severe attacks.

   4. Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects
   on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung
   cancer.

   Supporting Evidence
      - Concentrations of many cancer-causing and toxic chemicals are higher
      in secondhand smoke than in the smoke inhaled by smokers.
      - Breathing secondhand smoke for even a short time can have immediate
      adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and interferes with
the normal
      functioning of the heart, blood, and vascular systems in ways
that increase
      the risk of a heart attack.
      - Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work
      increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 - 30 percent.
      - Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work
      increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20 - 30 percent.

   5. The scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of
   exposure to secondhand smoke.

   Supporting Evidence
      - Short exposures to secondhand smoke can cause blood platelets to
      become stickier, damage the lining of blood vessels, decrease
coronary flow
      velocity reserves, and reduce heart rate variability,
potentially increasing
      the risk of a heart attack.
      - Secondhand smoke contains many chemicals that can quickly irritate
      and damage the lining of the airways. Even brief exposure can result in
      upper airway changes in healthy persons and can lead to more frequent and
      more asthma attacks in children who already have asthma.

   6. Eliminating smoking in indoor spaces fully protects nonsmokers from
   exposure to secondhand smoke. Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning
   the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate exposures of nonsmokers
   to secondhand smoke.

   Supporting Evidence
      - Conventional air cleaning systems can remove large particles, but
      not the smaller particles or the gases found in secondhand smoke.
      - Routine operation of a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning
      system can distribute secondhand smoke throughout a building.
      - The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
      Engineers (ASHRAE), the preeminent U.S. body on ventilation issues, has
      concluded that ventilation technology cannot be relied on to
control health
      risks from secondhand smoke exposure.

*The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report
of the Surgeon General* was prepared by the Office on Smoking and Health,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Report was written by 22
national experts who were selected as primary authors. The Report chapters
were reviewed by 40 peer reviewers, and the entire Report was reviewed by 30
independent scientists and by lead scientists within the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Throughout the review process, the Report was revised to address reviewers’
comments.

*Citation*
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. *The Health Consequences of
Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General*.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006.

For more information, please refer to the Resources page. Additional
highlight sheets are also available at www.cdc.gov/tobacco.

Last revised: January 4, 2007

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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
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