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ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE AND RESTAURANTS

ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE AND RESTAURANTS TABLE OF CONTENTS Objectives and Key Messages .............................................p. 1 Suggested Communications .............................................. p. 5 Refe re nces ............................................................................. p. 7 00

S RESTAURANTS Objectives Preempt the need for legislated smoking restrictions. Develop allies in hospitality industry in opposing legislation to restrict/ban smoking in their establishments. Promote "self-regulation" and "accommodation" programs, including separation of smokers and nonsmokers. Key Messages W Legislated smoking restrictions/bans in the hospitality trade are undesirable. Restaurant owners and food service operators should be alert to efforts by special interest groups who want their issue -- total elimination of smoking - to take precedence over all other considerations.(l) Government mandated smoking bans or regulations which rigidly define space allocation for smoking in restaurants interfere with the right of the restaurateur and restaurant staff to offer equal hospitality to all customers - whatever their smoking preference. A restaurant's survival depends upon the comfort and the goodwill of a diversified clientele, some who smoke and others who don't. . Putting restrictive legislation in place and making restaurant employees responsible for enforcing such laws creates enormous potential for confrontation, embarrassment, awkward legal situations and loss of business.(2) 1

A • i Such legislation can have negative impact on business. There are numerous occasions when a group of friends or business associates wish to dine together. Some of the group smoke, others do not. Will the restaurant they choose accommodate, segregate, or turn them away because of bans? Empty tables and annoyed customers mean lost revenues and lost repeat business - often the crucial difference between an owner's success or failure. Mandated smoking restrictions in restaurants often are prescriptions for confusion and anger. On busy occasions, customers may endure the paradox of waiting for tables in one area while tables in the other stand empty. Rather than wait, they leave. For customers, mandated restrictions can charge a restaurant's pleasant atmosphere with storm clouds of hostility. Because cigarette smoke is easy to see and smell, it is also easy to blame for a host of supposed discomforts. To resolve conflict, customers may resort to playing policeman themselves - hardly the recipe for a relaxed, convivial meal.(l) Owners, and operators--not government--are in the best position to determine what arrangements best accommodate their patrons' preferences. Mandated smoking regulations also present the proprietor with a thorny dilemma. Since a restaurateur's survival depends on making a diverse clientele feel comfortable and satisfied, restaurants are a particularly vulnerable laboratory for testing this new disruptive social "Prohibition". Restrictions may force owners to forsake fine-tuned seating arrangements: dismantle key elements of decor: enforcing arbitrary, bureaucratic standards for lighting, heating, humidity and ventilation - even remove enticing cooking aromas. Restaurateurs are keenly sensitive to customers' needs and wishes. They already possess the ability and the motivation to accommodate the preferences of each of their customers. Extending public smoking bans into the private sector through restaurant restrictions may cripple that ability.(1) 2

• 0 a The restaurant business is one centered around service and accommodation. To be successful we must meet the needs of our clientele on many levels: in the food we serve, in the wines we offer, in the decor of our restaurants and in their preferences for smoking and nonsmoking environments. These various preferences are best decided by the individual restaurateur, not through legislation.(3) Solution to tobacco smoke controversy in hospitality areas: • Proper ventilation The most effective way of reducing all complaints about indoor air quality in any restaurant space is to have adequate ventilation rates.(4) • Courtesy, mutual respect and, as appropriate, separate sections through self-regulation. It is the hosts' responsibility to make everyone feel welcome. It is therefore in their interests to make self-regulation work - to make their own decisions about if or where people smoke in their restaurants, based on the needs and desires of their clientele. Market forces will determine where people choose to eat. Smoking policy decisions should be made by the restaurateur and his or her staff according to the needs of their customers. Since the mix of smokers and nonsmokers differs at every sitting, rigid divisions would create difficulties.(1) 3

• . Example An example of how these message points can be utilized is the "Preserve Our Traditions" campaign. The "Preserve Our Traditions" campaign was developed for the International Ho.Re.Ca as a way of helping restaurant associations deal with the smoking issue. Objectives of the campaign are: • Preserve the art of welcoming and conviviality Protect employees' rights to concentrate on service • Safeguard owner's rights to run his or her business • Avoid mandated and unworkable regulations • Maintain equitable service conditions • Increase customer accommodation and satisfaction Please note that this initiative is one which supports the business interests of the restaurateur and is not a tobacco industry accommodation campaign. It is anticipated that national/local associations will use this material to develop their own campaigns. More importantly, however, they can utilize the concepts to fight proposed legislated smoking restrictions. 4

Suggested Communications WHO • Ventilation experts WHAT • Proper ventilation is the most effective way to reduce indoor pollution. • Restaurateurs and Restaurant Assoc. • Hotel/ Restaurant schools • SRG's • Legislated smoking restrictions/bans in the hospitality trade are undesirable. • Such legislation can have negative impact on business. • Owners and operators not government - are in the best position to determine what arrangements best accommodate their patrons preferences. • Smoking in restaurants is an emerging issue in many countries. The best way to address the issue in the hospitality industry is with courtesy, mutual respect and, as appropriate, separate sections for smokers and non-smokers. • Most customers choose a restaurant for a good meal and good service in a relaxed social environment. For smokers that is an environment that makes them feel welcomed, respected , comfortable and is one in which they are able to enjoy smoking. TO WHOM • Restaurateurs • Hotel/restaurant schools • Hospitality trade press • Restaurateurs • Parliamentarians • Patrons • Popular media • Trade media • Hotel/restaurant school • Students • Hospitality Associations • Trade press • Restaurateurs • Parliamentarians • Media 5

~ WHO WHAT TO WHOM • Philip Morris 10 • We support the entrepreneurial spirit and valued traditions of the restaurateur to create a comfortable and congenial dining experience without government intervention. • We support his right to run his business in a way that best accommodates his customers' preferences and meets his business objectives. • Proper ventilation, courtesy, mutual respect and, as appropriate, separate sections for smokers and non-smokers will best address the issue of smoking in restaurants. • Restaurateurs • Hospitality Associations • Parliamentarians • Media 6

REFERENCES 1. "Alert: Smoke Free," Ho.Re.Ca News, July 1989. 2. "Employee Perspective" in the Preserve Our Traditions campaign kit, International Ho.Re.Ca, Zurich, Switzerland, April, 1991. 3. Zwaaf, D., and de Nichilo, D., "Beverly Hills Smoking Ordinance," presentation to International Ho.Re.Ca Congress, Pamplona, Spain, October 1989. 4. "Tobacco Smoke in Restaurants," Special Report, International Ho.Re.Ca, October 1989. 7