ECONOMICS

• The California Smoke-Free Workplace Law went into effect in restaurants in 1995 and in bars in 1998. Final Taxable Sales Figures from the California Board of Equalization for 1997 showed annual taxable sales reported by owners of establishments that sold beer and wine were $7.16 billion dollars for that year. In 1998 sales increased to $7.6 billion dollars and by the end of 1999 they had jumped $8.27 billion dollars. (California Board of Equalization, November 1999)

• Final Taxable Sales Figures for establishments selling all types of liquor were $8.6 billion dollars in 1997, before the smoke-free bar law went into effect. After the law became effective, annual taxable sales for these establishments increased to $9.08 billion dollars for 1998 and increased again to $9.82 billion dollars for 1999. (California Board of Equalization, August, 2000)

• This upward trend continued into 2000 with annual taxable sales for the entire "eating and drinking group" increasing during the first quarter of 2000 over 1999 sales by 9.8%. (California Board of Equalization, March, 2000)

• Sales tax data showed that an additional $879,816,000 in sales were made in California’s beer, wine and liquor serving establishments during 1998 as compared to 1997 - after the California Smoke-free Workplace Law went into effect for bars. (California Board of Equalization, November 1999)

• The rate of growth in beer, wine and liquor serving establishments outpaced all retail outlet taxable sales in 1998, compared to 1997, by 7.7 %. (California Board of Equalization, November 1999)

• A study by the University of California, San Francisco of bar revenue data provided by the California Board of Equalization concluded that: “As with claims of adverse effects on restaurant and tourist industries, these data further discredit tobacco industry claims that smokefree bar laws are bad for the bar business. Quite the contrary, these laws appear to be good for business.” (Institute for Health Policy Studies, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, 1998)

• In fact, 88.7% of Californians agree that all indoor work sites should be smoke-free. (1997, California Adult Tobacco Survey, CDHS)

BREATH – THE CALIFORNIA SMOKE-FREE BAR PROGRAM

A Statewide Project of the American Lung Association of the East Bay

5495 Carlson Drive, Suite 'D' Sacramento CA 95819

Phone: (916) 739-8925 Fax: (916) 739-8927 E-Mail: breath@jps.net