LVDI Marriott Shanghai

FAGORNEWS 2011
results: 65% of interviewees from the sector
said business had declined as a result of the
law, and more than a quarter complained
of loss of investment after having installed
special areas for smokers in their establishments.
55.1% were even considering having
to dismiss staff as a result of the slump in
business.
Not all the replies were negative, however:
26.4% of those interviewed did not consider
the enforcement of the Law to have affected
their business, and 33.4% had not noticed
any drop in the number of customers. Moreover,
28.8% answered affirmatively when
asked whether the non-smoking law could
be beneficial for their business in the longterm.
Bearing in mind that this survey was
conducted within a fortnight of the law being
passed, it may be necessary to collect the
#04 / FEBRUARY 2011
data again when a few months have gone by
to determine the real extent of the change.
The situation in other countries
Spain is by no means the first country to take
measures for curbing the smoking habit. Perhaps
what the country most criticises about
the law is that the most restrictive measures
have been directly adopted, and sooner
or later these will extend to all the countries
in the European Union. France, Italy, Finland,
Germany and Estonia are some of
the countries that have already enforced or
are currently drawing up similar restrictions
to Spain, and in non-EU countries such as
Canada, the USA, Singapore or Australia,
smoking has been subject to prohibitions
even more restrictive than those in Spain for
several years now.
TOGETHER WE EVOLVE
The pioneer countries that were the first to
enforce smoking bans have carried out studies
on the evolution and effects of restrictions
in the restaurant and catering sector. In
2007, UK magazine Moneyweek published
an extensive article written by collaborator
Glynn Davis for which a host of data was
gathered on the situation in other countries
in order to examine the likely effects of the
imminent ban on the pub and restaurant
sector. Some of this data was quite surprising:
a year after the smoking ban in restaurants
was enforced in New York in 2003, the
Zagat Guide conducted a survey of 30,000
consumers and discovered that 23% dined
out more often than before. Another study
conducted in Ireland in 2004 concluded that
support of the Non-Smoking Law had grown
by 67% before its enactment, and 82% after
it was enforced. English pubs that had kept
a step ahead of the law by banning smoking
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