Bar Related News

Food, drink sales up since smoking ban

By: Paul Sand
Source: The News Tribune
Published: June 12, 2007

TACOMA, Washington -- A lot less gambling, and little more buying pub grub and beer.
 
That’s the conclusion about what happened in bars, restaurants and gambling halls across Washington in 2006, the first full year under the state’s voter-approved smoking ban, the Department of Revenue said Monday.
 
Sales of food and alcohol increased 3.6 percent in 2006, compared to a 2.1 percent average annual growth from 2002 to 2005. Gross income at non-tribal gambling businesses fell 9.8 percent in 2006.
 
“The numbers suggest that bars and taverns may have lost some smokers, but gained customers drawn to a smoke-free environment,” said revenue department spokesman Mike Gowrylow.
 
Tim Tweten, who owns six South Sound restaurants including the Poodle Dog in Fife, said he appreciates the ban but isn’t sure if the uptick in his alcohol and food sales is due to clearer air.
 
He said his sales rebounded throughout 2006, and surpassed the 3.6 percent overall state increase, but declined to specify by how much.
 
“We’ve lived though it, and I think things are great,” Tweten said.
 
The nontribal gambling industry saw a 19.5 percent income boost in 2003, but income fell 8.6 percent in 2004 and another 5 percent in 2005, according to revenue department data.
 
Gowrylow said department officials haven’t tried to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the smoking ban and business revenues, but he said it’s possible the law affected sales.
 
Additionally, he said it’s possible but uncertain whether the drop in gambling business income is because smokers are using tribal casinos, which aren’t subject to the ban.
 
Voters in November 2005 approved an initiative that banned smoking in bars and restaurants and within 25 feet of doors and windows of businesses.
 
The law took effect on Dec. 8, 2005, earning praise from health advocates who said it would protect employees from second-hand smoke. Many bar owners opposed the law, saying it would cause financial harm to their business and take away an owner’s right to choose whether to allow smoking.
 
Violating the ban in Pierce County could cost a smoker or bar owner $120. The fines are weighed by local health departments.
 
In the first six months of the ban, the health officials across Washington fielded about 2,500 complaints about people and businesses violating the ban. Twelve of those cases resulted in legal action, according to the state Department of Health.
 
In Pierce County, health officials inspected 2,100 bars and restaurants during that time, writing about 350 citations. Nearly 90 percent of those were issued for missing or improperly post “No Smoking” signs, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department reported.
 
So far in 2007, county health officials haven’t cited anyone for violating the ban, department spokeswoman Joby Winans said.
 
Paul Sand: 253-597-8872
 
paul.sand@thenewstribune.com