Tempe (Arizona) bar revenue down 20 percent after smoking ban

azfamily ^

[chance33_98]

Tempe bar revenue down 20 percent 10/26/2002

The Associated Press

TEMPE -- City tax records show the 5-month-old smoking ban in Tempe has had little effect on tax revenue coming from bars.

New data compiled by Tempe finance director Rich Oesterle shows that bars were submitting significantly less tax revenue to the city as early as April.

The smoking ban took effect in May and taxes collected for the month were reported to the city in July.

According to Oesterle, April collections were 21.7 percent below the previous year and May's collections were down 20.2 percent.

The recently reported sales for August show that bars suffered a 20.4 percent decline and July's collections were off 33.2 percent.

[KS Flyover]

Nice rant!

[logic101.net]

Gee, imagine that. Maybe the fact that most bar patrons also smoke might have something to do with this? Yet, the anti-smokers who might want to go to a bar once a year insist that they get to choose from every bar in town and that smokers have to stay home.

It's well past time for some backlash against the anti smoking tyrants!

MARK A SITY
http://www.logic101.net/

[Chemnitz]

I like cigars every so often, but I would never smoke one inside a building. I do not like to eat with cigarette smoke drifting across my nose, but even more I hate the anti-cigarette campaign. At the same time people want medical marijuana. So let me figure this out. Cigarettes are bad, but marijuana is therapeutic. I am missing something.

I hope Tempe goes broke with their ban. One man is already putting up a restaurant just outside of Tempe. Everyone knows it will do well. The other cities should not go along with this tyranny.

[Still Thinking]

why don't I run for office - - - I make such GOOD sense!!!!!

You answered your own question.

[realwoman]

Where did you learn that the employees were refusing to work the smoking sections? Just curious, because I worked in restaurants for over 20 years, and in my experience in 3 different states, about 95% of restaurant employees are themselves smokers.

[Still Thinking]

I hope Tempe goes broke with their ban. One man is already putting up a restaurant just outside of Tempe. Everyone knows it will do well. The other cities should not go along with this tyranny.

Tempe Mayor Neil Vissarionovich Giulano can rot in hell for all I care. He really pissed in his soup with me when he tried to stymie ADOT plans to widen the freeway because his superior vision was "freeways bad, mass transit good". Can you imagine a freeway that was four to six lanes each way everywhere else, necked down to three in Tempe? Gridlock city.

[realwoman]

The thing that gets me the most is how these people refer to restaurants and bars as "public" places. They are not! They are private places and the owners are inviting you in. No different than me inviting you to my house for dinner.

[GoldMan]

The thing that gets me the most is how these people refer to restaurants and bars as "public" places


This thinking extends to all parts of Tempe city government. They believe all business is PUBLIC property. They enforce parts of the building code that apply to public space on all PRIVATE properties. You can argue with the building official but it just slows down your project. (I'm an Architect)