KEEP ST. LOUIS FREE!: December 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Reasonable Marijuana Regulation in Missouri

Keep Columbia Free called and asked us to join the effort to reform marijuana laws in Missouri. To this end, we suggested that the editors of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch publish John Payne's strong op-ed and help begin the discussion statewide.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/guest-commentary-marijuana-laws-should-spare-adult-smokers/article_b69c95b5-b138-512f-aaa6-78f52d608407.html

Monday, December 26, 2011

EPA Overestimates Air Pollution Life Risk

Enstrom091611

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Letter to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels

Dear Governor Daniels,

I read online that you are considering supporting a smoking ban for Indiana. I wanted to warn you that smoking bans across the country have done grave economic harm to adult venues such as bars and casinos.

Please find attached to this e-mail a number of studies, all conducted by PhD economists, which find that smoking bans do indeed harm businesses such as bars and casinos. While I am sure the American Cancer Society has presented to you many contrary studies which find that smoking bans do no economic harm, I have to warn you that these contrary studies have been conducted almost entirely by public health professionals, not economists, and have been published in public health journals, not economic journals. As economist Dr. Jonathan Tomlin pointed out in Forbes Magazine, these amateur studies are "riddled with statistical shortcomings and... flaws."

http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/04/economic-impact-bars-restaurants-opinions-contributors-smoking-ban.html

Please allow me to suggest to you the preemptive exemption for "over 21" workplaces in the Tennessee smoking ban. Such an exemption would greatly reduce any economic harm threatened by an Indiana smoking ban. Please find the Tennessee public smoking law attached.

Governor Daniels, the latest Gallup Poll shows that while most Americans do favor a ban on smoking in restaurants, Americans also favor some sort of compromise accommodation of smokers in adult venues such as bars and casinos. Only 31 percent of Americans favor a total ban on smoking in bars and casinos. I am sure similar numbers hold true in Indiana as well.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/141809/americans-smoking-off-menu-restaurants.aspx

Bill Hannegan

Home phone: 314.367.3779

Cell phone: 314.315.3779

Links to Attached Studies:

The Effect of Smoking Bans on Bars and Restaurants: An Analysis of Changes in Employment

Adams, Scott and Cotti, Chad D. (2007) "The Effect of Smoking Bans on Bars and Restaurants: An Analysis of Changes in Employment," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy: Vol. 7: Iss. 1 (Contributions), Article 12.
DOI: 10.2202/1935-1682.1628

http://www.bepress.com/bejeap/vol7/iss1/art12/

The Impact of Smoking Bans on the Hospitality Industry: New Evidence from Stock Market Returns

Jonathan T. Tomlin (2009) “The Impact of Smoking Bans on the Hospitality Industry: New Evidence

from Stock Market Returns,”

The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy: Vol. 9: Iss.

1 (Contributions), Article 13.

http://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/bejeap/v9y2009i1n13.html

The Economic Impact of a Smoking Ban in Columbia, Missouri: An Analysis of Sales Tax Data for the First Year

Michael R. Pakko, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Regional Economic Development, 2008, 4(1), pp. 30-40.

http://65.89.18.138/publications/red/2008/01/Pakko.pdf

The Economic Impact of the New York State Smoking Ban on New York’s Bars

Ridgewood Economic Associates, Ltd., 2004

http://heartland.org/sites/all/modules/custom/heartland_migration/files/pdfs/19885.pdf

An Analysis of the Economic Effect of the Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky Smoking Ban of 2004

Richard Thalheimer, Thalheimer Research Associates, Inc., 2005

http://kuneman.smokersclub.com/PDF/KYLexingtonThalheimerreport6_8_05.pdf

A Report on the Impacts of the City of Dallas Smoking Ban on Alcoholic Beverage Sales March 2003 to March 2004

Terry L. Clower, Ph.D. & Bernard L. Weinstein, professors of applied economics at the University of North Texas in Denton, 2004

http://www.scribd.com/doc/75958890/Dallas-Ban-Report-Full

The Revenue Performance of Casinos after a Smoking Ban: The Case of Illinois

Thomas A. Garrett, Michael R. Pakko, 2010, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

http://research.stlouisfed.org/wp/2009/2009-027.pdf

Impact of Smoking Bans on Restaurants

National Restaurant Association, 2004

http://www.minnesotansagainstsmokingbans.com/smoking_issuekit_200409.pdf

No Smoking at the Slot Machines: The Effect of a Smoke-Free Law on Delaware Gaming Revenues

Michael R. Pakko, 2005, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

http://research.stlouisfed.org/wp/2005/2005-054.pdf

The Economic Losers from Smoking Bans

Michael L. Marlow, Regulation, 2010

http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv33n2/regv33n2-4.pdf

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Smoking Ban Studies by PhD Economists Finding Business Loss

Letter sent to City of Indianapolis & Marion County City-County Council December 6th:

Honorable Indianapolis & Marion County Councillors,

Please find attached to this e-mail a number of studies, all conducted by PhD economists, which find that smoking bans harm businesses such as bars and casinos. Based in part on these studies, St. Louis City and St. Louis County opted to exempt casinos and some bars from their separately enacted smoking bans. And just last week, again based in part on these studies, neighboring St. Charles County refused to enact a smoking ban unless it contained an exemption for "over 21" establishments such as bars and casinos.

Honorable Councillors, many studies have been conducted by health professionals and published in public health journals arguing that smoking bans do not hurt bars or casinos, yet as economist Jonathan Tomlin pointed out in Forbes Magazine, these amateur studies are "riddled with statistical shortcomings and... flaws."