While the premise for smoke-free laws is protecting public health, that message is far too often lost in the debate over economic impact.  Yesterday, officials from Indiana University released a report illustrating that the fear of business loss is unfounded.

New Report from Indiana University:
Smoke-Free Workplace Laws Save Lives and Money Without Hurting Business
March 24, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS--In the debate over smoke-free workplace laws, both sides brandish research about the health and economic impact of such measures. The studies often contradict one another. That makes it difficult for legislators voting on the issue and reporters covering it to know what to believe.
 
To help alleviate the confusion, the Indiana University Center for Health Policy conducted a comprehensive review of existing research about the health and economic impact of smoke-free workplace laws. It released the findings of that review today.
 
"There's a lot of information out there about whether smoke-free laws hurt business. Some of that information is intentionally misleading," said lead author Eric Wright, Ph.D., director of the Indiana University Center for Health Policy and associate dean of the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI. "As a neutral, university-based research organization, we were able to sort through the conflicting research and draw bottom-line conclusions that should help legislators at the state and local level in their consideration of smokefree workplace laws."   
 
"What's more," said Wright, "Studies based on unverified data or published in journals that are not peer-reviewed are not credible. Our review shows that when biased, unqualified studies are left out, what remains is clear: Smoke-free workplaces are good for business and good for workers."
 
Key findings of the research analysis:

While secondhand smoke has been definitively linked to many kinds of health problems, the most significant health consequence related to secondhand smoke is death. Some 50,000 nonsmokers die annually in the United States due to secondhand smoke-related illnesses. In 2007, 1194 Hoosiers died from diseases definitively tied to secondhand smoke.

Servers, bartenders, dealers and other workers in restaurants, bars and casinos may regularly be exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke. The levels of secondhand smoke in bars are 240 to1850 percent higher than those in other workplace smoking environments, such as offices, factories, warehouses, hotels and other service-oriented places. Casinos have secondhand smoke levels 300 to 600 percent higher, while restaurant smoke levels are 160 to 200 percent higher than those in other workplace smoking environments.

Smoke-free workplace laws do not have a negative economic impact on restaurants and bars. Though business owners fear that smokers will stay away from restaurants and bars that ban smoking, the data show that the hospitality industry has not lost revenue because of smoke-free workplace laws. The IU Center for Health Policy's analysis found that 47 of the 49 studies on the economic impact to the hospitality industry concluded no adverse affect.

Smoke-free workplace laws do not hurt casino business. While fewer objective peer-reviewed studies have been conducted on this issue, available research shows no negative revenue impact on total gambling revenue or the average revenue per machine.

The public supports smoke-free casinos. Surveys show that 70 percent of New Jersey residents and 91 percent of California residents prefer smoke-free casinos. 

Smoke-free workplaces save employers money. Employers who protect their workers from secondhand smoke see savings as a result of improved worker health. Workers are more productive and less likely to be absent, and their employers also enjoy reduced health insurance costs and facility maintenance costs.

Secondhand smoke exposure costs Indiana money. Indiana spends $390 million dollars per year on healthcare costs related to secondhand smoke in the workplace.

Hoosiers support smoke-free workplaces. Three out of four Hoosiers support smoke-free workplace laws.

Click here for the full report

Update: Smoke-Free Columbia, Missouri

In January 2007, Columbia, MO became 100% smoke-free in its bars and restaurants. 

More than 2 years later, sales tax data shows that the bar and restaurant industry has increased and there are now more bars and restaurants post-ordinance compared to pre-ordinance.

Most importantly, the health of bar and restaurant employees and patrons is fully protected from the hazards of secondhand smoke.  Congrats Columbia!

USA Today
 Study: Smoking ban leads to major drop in heart attacks

ATLANTA (AP) -- A smoking ban in one Colorado city led to a dramatic drop in heart attack hospitalizations within three years, a sign of just how serious a health threat secondhand smoke is, government researchers said Wednesday. The study, the longest-running of its kind, showed the rate of hospitalized cases dropped 41% in the three years after the ban of workplace smoking in Pueblo, Colo., took effect. There was no such drop in two neighboring areas, and researchers believe it's a clear sign the ban was responsible.
The study suggests that secondhand smoke may be a terrible and under-recognized cause of heart attack deaths in this country, said one of its authors, Terry Pechacek of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This study is very dramatic," said Dr. Michael Thun, a researcher with the American Cancer Society.

"This is now the ninth study, so it is clear that smoke-free laws are one of the most effective and cost-effective to reduce heart attacks," said Thun, who was not involved in the CDC study released Thursday.

Smoking bans are designed not only to cut smoking rates but also to reduce secondhand tobacco smoke. It is a widely recognized cause of lung cancer, but its effect on heart disease can be more immediate. It not only damages the lining of blood vessels, but also increases the kind of blood clotting that leads to heart attacks. Reducing exposure to smoke can quickly cut the risk of clotting, some experts said.

"You remove the final one or two links in the chain" of events leading to a heart attack, Thun said.

Secondhand smoke causes an estimated 46,000 heart disease deaths and about 3,000 lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers each year, according to statistics cited by the CDC.

In the new study, researchers reviewed hospital admissions for heart attacks in Pueblo. Patients were classified by ZIP codes. They then looked at the same data for two nearby areas that did not have bans -- the area of Pueblo County outside the city and for El Paso County.

In Pueblo, the rate of heart attacks dropped from 257 per 100,000 people before the ban to 152 per 100,000 in the three years afterward. There were no significant changes in the two other areas.

"The need for protection from secondhand smoke in all workplaces and public places has never been clearer," said Matthew Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a prepared statement. He is president of the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization.

But the study had limitations: It assumed declines in the amount of secondhand smoke in Pueblo buildings after the ban, but did not try to measure that. The researchers also did not sort out which heart attack patients were smokers and which were not, so it's unclear how much of the decline can be attributed to reduced secondhand smoke.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.