Why
Smokefree Dining is Best
Smokefree Dining Is Best
is a single-sheet brochure that gives restaurant owners and managers
a quick outline of the advantages of smokefree dining. It's
designed to give you the backup information you need --
the population, health, economic, and legal data -- when
you express your desire for smokefree dining to restaurateurs.
The most effective
delivery of this brochure is by a patron seeking smokefree
dining or by a health department staff member on an official
visit.
If
you'd like to order our multi-colored, published version
of the brochure, click here.
Here's the text of the brochure:
You can increase profits and customer satisfaction.
More than 85% of New Jerseyans don't
smoke. Many are offended by smoke but say nothing
-- they just don't return.
Secondhand smoke is a health hazard.
It causes heart disease and lung cancer and kills more than
50,000 Americans every year.
Restaurants are often smokier than other
places -- two to five times smokier than the
typical workplace, even six times as polluted as a busy
highway. Restaurant employees - often young people and people
without health insurance - have much higher rates of lung
cancer and heart disease than employees in other workplaces.
Smokefree dining is popular.
Studies by the National Restaurant Association, the Gallup
Poll, Zagat Surveys, plus an Eagleton Institute survey in
New Jersey, and others show customers want smokefree dining.
Smokers accept smokefree policies
at work, in other public places, and in restaurants.
In fact, one out of every four New Jersey smokers say they're
bothered by secondhand smoke in restaurants (Eagleton survey).
Smokers can dine without smoking. Nonsmokers can't
hold their breath throughout a meal.
Smokefree dining is good for business.
Thousands of proprietors have discovered the business benefits.
And there's proof:
- Nonsmokers
spend 2.5 times more than smokers. (Cornell University
study)
- A study of every community
in the United States with smokefree restaurant ordinances
concluded that they "do not adversely affect restaurant
sales." (American Journal of Public Health)
Cut costs. No more cigarette
burns. Less cleaning and repainting. Cut air cooling, heating,
and ventilation costs. Negotiate lower fire and property
insurance.
Reduce problems. Eliminate
disputes among customers about smoking. Reservations and
seating are simpler. Tables turn over faster when there's
no lingering to smoke cigarettes.
Keep up with the competition. There are
several thousand smokefree restaurants in New Jersey and
dozens of smokefree bars. New ones are added at the rate
of more than one a day.
Protect yourself from legal liability.
The National Restaurant Association has advised members
they can be held responsible for employees who develop disease
from secondhand smoke. In one case, a nonsmoking waiter
was awarded almost $100,000. Under the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA), customers can also sue.
Keep up with the law. A dozen
states and hundreds of cities and counties, including some
in New Jersey, have smokefree restaurant and/or bar laws.
New Jersey law requires you to inform patrons about your
policy regarding smoking. (PL 1985, Chap. 186) State law
underwrites your smokefree policy and gives it legal status.
(PL 1985, Chap. 187)
Smokefree policies mean free publicity.
New Jersey GASP will give you a free listing in 100%
Smokefree Dining in New Jersey, free listings on the
Internet, and promote smokefree dining in advertising and
press releases. (Please see below.)
Smokefree policies protect children.
Secondhand smoke is very dangerous for children.
Young people are more likely to be healthy and free from
addiction to nicotine if they grow up in a smokefree world.
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What
Restaurant and Bar Owners Say:
"Everything
in our bar and restaurant stays so much cleaner now that we're
smokefree. People who smoke come here, too, and say they like
it. Owners work 12-15 hours a day to make a good future for
themselves, but they may have no future if they lose their
health because of secondhand smoke." Bonnie Petrock,
Petrock's Bar and Grille, Belle Mead, smokefree since 1992
"We
had a fire started by a cigarette in our restaurant. We lost
our business and our home. Our new restaurant is entirely
nonsmoking. We're booked full every night, booked weeks in
advance for weekend dining. We'd never go back to allowing
smoking." Michael and Marybeth Peters, Pierres's Bistro
and Bar, Morristown, smokefree since 1993
"With
smoking, there's always some problem - dirty ashtrays, butts
in the dishes. Besides, eventually there will be a law making
restaurants smokefree. This way, we got a jump on the competition."
Josephine Deal and Al Iellimo, Joe's Pizzeria and Vittoria's
Ristorante, Summit, smokefree since 1994
"The
smell of smoke has been replaced by the welcoming aroma of
our cuisine. Our staff is happier, our guests are happier.
Rather than a bar half full with patrons nursing cocktails,
we now experience a bar full of guests savoring appetizers
to four course dinners." Elizabeth Alger and James
Black, The Frog and The Peach, New Brunswick, smokefree since
1997
New Jersey GASP will help you make your restaurant smokefree:
- New
Jersey GASP's website www.njgasp.org provides information
on going smoke free including polls, health data, legal
information, success stores, etc.
- New
Jersey GASP will mail you information and materials. Just
fill out the order form.
- New
Jersey GASP will answer your individual questions - our
director and other staff, including an attorney, have
helped thousands of businesses create smokefree policies.
And we can put you in touch with other smokefree business
owners and your local tobacco-control coalition.
- Another
useful website is www.tobaccoscam.ucsf.edu,
which specifically shows how the tobacco industry has
misled the hospitality industry, that smokefree policies
and legislation don't hurt business, and that restaurants
throughout the nation have benefited from smokefree environments.
NJ GASP will help you promote your smokefree restaurant:
- New Jersey GASP does statewide advertising and publicity
featuring smokefree dining.
- New Jersey GASP will put your restaurant on our website which
gets thousands of visitors a year and where our smokefree
dining database is the most popular feature.
- New Jersey GASP will list your smokefree restaurant in 100%
Smokefree Dining in New Jersey. This directory is
distributed statewide to:
- citizens
- newspapers
- health and consumer organizations
- legislators
- New Jersey GASP members.
- New Jersey GASP will give you marketing suggestions plus
free signs and smokefree symbol artwork for your ads.
Smokefree Dining Is Best also contains a return form
for smokefree restaurants to be listed in the database and
an order form for materials.
If
you'd like to order our multi-colored, published version of
the brochure, click here.
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