New York’s smoking ban, introduced among much controversy last year, appears to be working and has led to an 11 per cent decline in the number of smokers in the city.
However, The Independent newspaper reports, the fall may be because of a sharp increase in the cost of cigarettes rather than the ban on smoking in all restaurants, bars and clubs.
The newspaper reports that the decline is “one of the steepest measured in the records of the United States, with many smokers cutting back on their habit as well as thousands giving up completely.
It continues: “Even the most casual survey of habits will register that smokers are on the run. The air is clean in bars (with some exceptions when bartenders choose to allow patrons to break the law, usually after midnight). Even lighting up on the street can attract disgusted frowns.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
