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Study Shows No Effect From Smoking Ban

By AP

Lexington, KY – A study released Monday says a year-old smoking ban in Kentucky's second largest city hasn't affected business in bars and restaurants. Opponents of the ban had warned that it would hurt such establishments.
Economist Eric Thompson of the University of Nebraska-Lincol and one of the study's authors, says that given the data at hand, researchers are not seeing a post-ban effect in Lexington.
The UK study looks at employment figures from restaurants, bars and hotels, business openings and closings and payroll withholding taxes since thr ban. The ban was approved by Lexington's Urban County and went into effect last year.
The study compares the post-ban numbers to the same data from up to five years before Lexington went smoke-free in most public places.