 |
 |
|||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
||
|
||
back
to news
Michigan's smoking ban marks 1st yearAs Michigan's ban on workplace smoking celebrates its first birthday Sunday, the debate about its cost to the state and small businesses continues. Critics point to decreased liquor sales in bars and a drop in sales of cigarettes and the lottery bureau's club games as proof of economic hardship. State revenues from Keno, booze and cigarettes are down and so is business for bars and some restaurants, said Lance Binoniemi, executive director of the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association, a group of mostly smaller bars and restaurants. "We estimate the state is losing $1.5 million a week," Binoniemi said. Binoniemi said the effects vary based on the customers for any given bar. Bars that catered mostly to smokers have been the hardest hit, he said. His group wants to amend the law to permit smoking rooms within establishments or other changes such as smoking on patios. Supporters of the ban acknowledge that some revenues are down, but argue that the effect is likely temporary. Overall, it has been a positive because people are healthier, they say. "You might have lost a few cents in taxes on a pack of cigarettes, but what do you gain on non-admissions to hospitals and nursing homes?" said Raymond Basham, a former legislator who pushed for the ban. "There's cost avoidance, and they need to look at that angle." |