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Article: Smoking ban excuse too easy ; Many factors contribute to bar, restaurant closures.
- Article from:
- Columbia Daily Tribune
- Article date:
- January 22, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 Columbia Daily Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Some excuses are just too convenient. During the past nine
months or so, a few bars have closed in Columbia and blamed their
demise on the year-old smoking ban. From the attention the Tribune
has given this issue, you would think Prohibition was again being
implemented. Sorry, folks, but the smoking ban is not your smoking
gun. Blaming the smoking ban has numerous flaws.
First, the argument that the ban has hurt bars and restaurants
financially began to surface immediately after the ban went into
effect, January and February 2007. I am sure objective evidence can
be presented that restaurant and bar sales were down during those
months, even compared to previous years - February, ...