Sales Up Despite Ban on Smoking - Restaurant revenue in Montgomery County increased in the six months after a countywide ban on smoking took effect, a finding that anti-smoking advocates hope will boost their efforts to enact similar bans statewide and in the District. -- Washington Post, June 28, 2004.

Consumer Spending Rises in May - Americans' incomes and spending rose strongly last month, but much of the money went to pay higher food and gasoline prices, the government reported today. -- Washington Post, June 28, 2004.

On the one hand people are spending more money on food, and that's good. And of course, it will be used as "proof" that smoking bans are a good thing. On the other hand, consumer income and spending is on the rise, but it's being dragged down because people are spending more money on food; and that's a bad thing.

Of course the smoking ban was never about sales revenue. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 percent of all restaurants were already non-smoking. If a smoke ban was so profitable, the other 60% would have jumped on that bandwagon voluntarily. Forcing restaurant owners to ban smoking is about violating people's property rights. The government shouldn't be in the business of telling people what they can and cannot do with their private property. Especially over something so trivial and unproven as second hand smoke.