No-smoking areas could lead to ban
01 January 2000
Putting no-smoking areas in restaurants could be the thin end of a wedge that leads to a total ban on smoking, said Joel Kissin, managing director of Conran Restaurants.
"No-smoking areas would just increase the level of complaints we receive, because people would sometimes have to sit in the wrong areas," said Mr Kissin.
He was supported by Scott Wexler of New York's Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association. Legal restrictions on smoking in the state meant a maximum of 15% of seats, in a separate area, was allowed for smokers in most licensed restaurants in the city.
The result was that two-thirds of restaurants had lost an average of 15% of their customers and 3,000 jobs had gone, said Mr Wexler.
