The Restaurant Association of Maryland is disputing a report that said restaurant sales continued to increase following a countywide smoking ban law passed in 2003.
The report, released Monday, said restaurant sales across the county have increased more than 19 percent since October 2003, when the smoking ban took effect. The report was made by Montgomery County Council Member Phil Andrews and former Council Member Ike Leggett, a Democratic candidate for County Executive.
But Melvin Thompson, vice president for government relations for RAM, said in an e-mail that the methodology behind the report “makes no sense,” adding that several restaurants, including Anchor Inn Seafood in Wheaton, Dietle’s Tavern in Rockville, Buffalo Billiards in Gaithersburg, and Montgomery’s Grille in Bethesda were “forced completely out of business by the smoking ban.”
The report, which said that sales rose from $57.7 million in the year before the 2003 ban to $68.8 million two years later, was based on sales tax receipts for all restaurants in Montgomery County, Andrews said Monday. The data was compiled by the Office of the State Comptroller.
But Thompson said the report is misleading because it would include data from carry-out establishments, pizza delivery stores, coffee shops and other fast food places that already were smoke free.
Data from those restaurants were included, Andrews said.
“The reason for the law is not to help or hurt restaurants,” Andrews said. “The reason for for the law was to protect restaurant workers and restaurant patrons.”
