Read all the links I provided. It's killing businesses. So many closures and lay-offs. They tell the general public what they WANT the general public to believe. It's all spin. Professional Spinners are hired to sugar coat the truth.
Tell a lie often enough and people will start to believe it is the truth.
The geography of Delaware is different than Maine because at most it is only 35 miles to a state without a smoking ban. The smoking has helped business immensely, in bars and restaurants just over the line in Maryland.
And even a year after the ban has been in effect it is still happening.
I met a number of people this summer who in the past vacationed at the Delaware beaches, not this year. The did vacation on the Delmarva Peninsula, but chose either Maryland or Virginia beaches to spend their vacation dollars.
The only businesses helped by smoking bans are those in nerby areas with out them.