2005年NPR美国国家公共电台四月-Study: Mass. Smoking Ban Hasn't Dampened

The business report starts with the economic effects of a smoking ban. Those effects might not be what you'd expect. Harvard University looked into the effect of a statewide smoking ban in bars and restaurants in Massachusetts. NPR's Chris Arnold reports the ban may have done more good than harm.

Before the smoking ban took effect, bar and restaurant owners predicted dire¹ economic fallout. They warned it would drive people away from pubs and night clubs, and even hurt tourism. But nearly two years later, that hasn't happened. Gregory Connelly is a professor at the Harvard school of public health.

There's been no negative economic impact, so there's no valid² reason for other states not to pass similar laws.

The study which was paid for by an anti-smoking nonprofit group had findings similar to other studies done in the past few years in California and New York. It found that liquor sales across the state showed no change after the ban and employment at bars and restaurants actually rose by 5%. Matt Ross and his family run Doy's Pub in Boston which had been serving drinks and pub food to a roomful of smokers³ since 1820.

We were a bit nervous, you wonder how certain customers are gonna react to it.

Ross says the ban hasn't hurt his business, but it has changed it.

We've seen a slight drop of customers in the bar area. A couple the old timers that used to come in, have a few cigarettes with their drinks, don't come in any more. You just don't see them. But in the same breath, with that, we've seen a lot of younger families coming in. Lot of young kids. And we've kind of adapted to that by taking, you know, the little kid cups, crowns for the kids to play with, and so we're evolving as an old style pub.

Ross says if you're gonna have a smoking ban, it's good to have it statewide so people don't just drive to the next town. He says the ban has hurt some bars that relied on customers who spent much of their day there, drinking and smoking. Harvard's Connelly says he did get a call from one bar owner complaining that the guys who used to come in at 8 am aren't coming in any more. But to Connelly, that's probably not such a bad thing. So far, seven states around the country have passed bans on smoking in the workplace.

Chris Arnold NPR News, Boston.

1 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

2 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

3 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。