Impact on Businesses
Smoke-Free Policies Are Good For Businesses
Smoking lowers your businesses resale value. Restaurants in smoke-free cities have a higher market value at resale (an average of 16 percent higher) than comparable restaurants located in smoke-filled cities.1 Allowing patrons to smoke increases cleaning costs. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that smoke-free restaurants can expect to save about $190 per 1,000 square feet each year in lower cleaning and maintenance costs.2 Allowing employees to smoke increases personnel costs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts a $3,391 price tag on each employee who smokes: $1,760 in lost productivity and $1,623 in excess medical expenditures.3
Sources:
1. Business Costs In Smoke-filled Environments. Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, 2006.
2. U.S. Dept. of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)Business Costs In Ibid.
3. “Voters across the country express strong support for smoke-free laws.” Tobacco Free Kids, 2011.
4. Guide to a Smoke-Free Workplace. GASP Colorado, 2011.
5. Ibid.
6. “Boulder’s Smoke-Free Ordinance Makes Good Cents for Restaurants and Bar,” GASP of Colorado, 2000.
7. “Smoke-free Restaurant Ordinances Do Not Affect Restaurant Business. Period.” Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 1999.
8. Ibid.