10.11.2005

Smokefree Coalition find bar profit losses 'encouraging'

In the Smokefree Coalition's Tobacco Control Update, coalition director Leigh Sturgiss finds the reading of a WIN Party survey 'quite encouraging'.

Sturgiss states nearly 60 percent of respondents 'have not been adversely affected' by the smoking ban, having recorded profit increases or having made a loss in profit of less than 5 percent, when compared to the same trading period in the preceding year.

"The WIN Party survey revealed 14 percent of respondents recorded profit increases, 18 percent recorded no change and 68 percent recorded profit losses directly attributable to the smoking ban", says WIN Party leader John van Buren.

"New Zealand is experiencing a buoyant economy, and in this present economic environment it is a disaster for any business to record no annual profit growth or a profit decline, and 86 percent or 591 of the 687 bars recorded no growth or a profit loss".

"The anti-smoking lobby love to quote statistics to advance their argument for tobacco prohibition, but if they wish to quote WIN Party survey results, it would be courteous if they quoted then in entirety, free of distortion and anti-smoking lobby spin".

"The anti-smoking lobby, prior to the introduction of the smokefree legislation, constantly preached bars would not lose money, but instead, would experience growth in trade as non-smokers took advantage of smokefree bars and increased their patronage".

"The bar industry has not experienced this growth in trade, and will not do so under the present smokefree legislation, so I wish Sturgiss would stop trying to gloss over what has been for many bar owners, a disaster".

"I fail to see how anyone can find 'encouragement' in our survey results and I have a feeling our next survey covering the twelve month period immediately following the bans introduction will reveal even greater losses".

ENDS

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