Mandate: NY smoking ban led to increase in employment

The Mandate trade union, which represents thousands of Irish bar workers, has accused the Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance of scaremongering in relation to the Government's plans to ban smoking in all workplaces next year.

The IHIA has claimed that pubs and restaurants in the United States lost 30% of their business when a similar ban was introduced in some US cities and states.

The group said a similar drop in business in Ireland would lead to 65,000 job losses.

However, Mandate claimed today that employment in the New York hospitality industry has actually increased by almost 10,000 since the city banned smoking in pubs in March.