Big Apple's bars rise above smoking ban

Tax receipts from New York bars and restaurants jumped almost 9% in the 10 months since a public smoking ban went into effect, proof the city says that businesses have not been harmed by the rules.

“The city’s bar and restaurant industry is thriving and its workers are breathing cleaner, safer air,” said a report issued today by the Economic Development Corporation and the Departments of Finance, Health & Mental Hygiene and Small Business Services.

From April 2003 through January 2004, the city collected about €14.39m in tax receipts from bars and restaurants, compared with €13.19m in the same period the year before.

Some opponents of the ban say their establishments are suffering as a result of the no-smoking law, but the city said indications for the industry were generally strong.

The report found that the number of workers employed in bars and restaurants were the highest number in at least a decade, that active liquor licences were up and that the number of bars and restaurants remained unchanged.