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Hospitality Leadership Through Learning
Faculty & Research

New York's Smoke-free Regulations: Effects on Employment and Sales in the Hospitality Industry

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Vol 44 No 3
By: Andrew Hyland , Vanaja Puli , Michael Cummings and Russ Sciandra

Executive Summary: Contrary to claims that smoke-free regulations cause decrease in hospitality-industry sales, this study determined that neither sales nor employment is hurt when smoke-free regulations are put in place. That conclusion is based on an examination of changes in restaurants' and hotels' business levels in five populous New York State jurisdictions that have implemented smoke-free regulations. Using state sales data and employment data for eating and drinking establishments and for hotels, the study compared those statistics for the year before the regulation was implemented with the same statistics for the first year following implementation. Instead of damaging hospitality sales and employment, the onset of smoke-free regulations was associated with increases in per-capita taxable sales for eating and drinking establishments and hotels (controlling for other economic factors). Employment rose in hotels, while no measurable change was observed for employment in restaurants operating under smoke-free regulations.

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