I'm the guy who put up that page, to prove that the claim that bans are good for business is yet another nanny lie. I've only been gathering data for about two weeks, and have listed nearly 100 business so far.
If you know of any business that have either closed, or been harmed by smoking bans, please send the information to me at
hittman@davehitt.com. At the minimum I need the name of the business, the % of business lost (unless it's closed, in which case I just plug in 100%), and the city and state. It's also helpful to have a street address for the business, and as much contact information about the owner that you can supply. (Mailing address, e-mail address, and phone number is preferred. This information isn't made public, but I keep it for my own use in case I need it later.) Quotes from the owners are helpful too. Information about bars, restaurants, and bar/restaurant combos is welcome, but I also can use information about distributors, bingo halls, bowling alleys, private clubs, and charities that have been hurt by bans.
I'm also collecting articles about places being harmed by bans, so send me any URLs you have that cover those types of stories.
I'm glad to see that this has caused so much conversation. I don't have time to look at all the comments right now, but will try to sometime in the next day or two.
It's rather amusing to see someone quoting from Tobacco Control as if a meta study by them would be worth more than a thimble of warm spit. Meta analysis are usually garbage no matter who does them – they're very difficult to do well and very, very easy to fake and manipulate. When they're done by an anti-smoker organization, only a complete idiot would give it any credence.
You'll find that nanny groups sponsor virtually all studies of the effects of bans. They have never, to my knowledge, done a study limited to taverns. Rather, they include places that were already non-smoking, like fast food joints, coffee houses, and delis, and places that will suffer minimal impact, like family oriented restaurants, places that cater to yuppies, and large chain restaurants. Simple inflation makes for an increase, which they then use as "proof" that business increased because of the ban.
If they were ever to do one on taverns, bingo halls, and places that cater to blue collar or rural clientele, the results would be so glum even they (who are experts at lying with numbers) would be hard pressed to hide the real damage their hate-inspired legislation causes.