[Nuke'm Glowing]

"This is an economic movement and not a rights movement. I agree that various groups have common ground but if it were not for the big restaurant chains to be for state wide bans."

If you truely believe that you are on crack. This is not an economics movement. This is a movement initiated by the healthnazis, the same group that wants to ban alcohol, SUVs, checmically treated produce, red meat, fast food, junk food, soda pop, and on and on. If you really believe that, you need to go back to your party meeting and get your Sierra Club speaking points updated. Or your Himmler speaking points. Or Stalin. Or whoever it is your getting your material from. That comment is utter nonsense. This is an extension of the pc movement and you know it.

[VRWC_minion]

This is not an economics movement

Once you lost the objection of the restaurant associations in NY it became an economics movement. The private associations members are in business to make a profit and the association is in business to help them make as large a profit as they can.

For the associations, made of of the restaurant members to back a smoking ban means the profits for the restaurants are higher with a ban. This makes sensse because I can see that both the cost of staffing two sections of seating, better table turnovers, reduced equipment and supplies costs as well as lower cleaning costs all lead to more profits. The only rub is lost customers which is alleviated by a region wide ban.

Once the economics works against you your screwed. The folks you mentioned may have been the catalyst but once they got the associations to follow suit the battle is over. Its only a matter of time now.