Winnipeg - “The supposed groundswell of non-smokers that were going to come out of the woodwork to fill that gap haven’t,” said Doug Stephen, president of WOW Hospitality, which operates several restaurants in Winnipeg, including The Old Spaghetti Factory and Pasta la Vista.

…The province estimates its gambling profits will plunge more than $27 million this year and continue to tumble the following year, thanks to smoking bans. That’s a loss of about 10%.

VLT revenues have been down about 20% in Winnipeg and Brandon.

Source: Winnipeg Sun. Link Expired.

Members of Citizens for Common Sense - the group behind a proposed amendment that would weaken Toledo’s smoking ban - said yesterday they stand by their decision to stop making contributions to health organizations mounting a campaign against their amendment.

“Why do we want to contribute to a group of people that’s trying to destroy our businesses, trying to tear us apart? Why should we donate to them to increase their funds to attack us? It doesn’t make sense,” said Tom Delaney, who brought up the issue of a boycott Wednesday.

“I will back any individual that has cancer, but I will not donate to these third-party organizations that are lined up against us,” added Mr. Delaney, who said he himself has skin cancer.

“I stopped giving to United Way in 1987 when the very first smoking ban went into effect, and I’ve urged restaurants to do the same,” said Arnie Elzey, owner of Arnie’s Eating and Drinking Saloon and another member of Citizens for Common Sense. “I was right. Here they are trying to put us out of business.”

Officials from the health organizations responded with a written statement condemning the bar and restaurant owners’ position.

“The call for a boycott is yet another example of these business owners showing callous disregard for the community’s health and the health of their workers,” said Anita Dunipace, executive director of the American Cancer Society’s Lucas County office.
“If these business owners think they’re going to blackmail us into sacrificing the health of the people of Toledo, they’re wrong,” said Aileen Meyer, executive director of the local American Heart Association.

(Can you believe the arrogance of these self-righteous bastards?)

“I find it terribly sad that any citizen would suggest people not donate to these groups,” said Dr. Donna Woodson, president of the Toledo-Lucas County Board of Health and a family-practice physician in Maumee, yesterday. “When we look back over decades to the contributions of these organizations, in terms of research and practice guidelines and public education, I cannot understand why people would make these decisions.” (Could it be that you’re putting them out of business, you clueless twit?)

Bar owners replied that they have a long history of charitable work in the community, and that will not change.

“Locally, we have donated many, many times to individuals who have had cancer, leukemia, and other debilitating diseases,” Mr. Delaney said. “We just don’t want to throw money at those that are working to put us out of business.”

Source: Toledo Blade. Link

“If I had known I was going to lose my business I wouldn’t have bought this home.”

The elder Iamunno claims that the restaurant had done well for the first three years. But when the statewide smoking ban snuffed out cigarettes in his bar area last October, 80 percent of his business went up in smoke, he said.

Source: The Record Journal Link Expired.

The respondants claimed a loss of about $2 million in gross sales during the first half of 2004, a 24.5 percent decrease from the previous year, and 611 lost full and part-time jobs.

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