A recent staff column in The Marquette Tribune argued that Milwaukee should ban smoking in bars and restaurants. Without references, the author claimed such a ban is opposed primarily by smokers and the businesses they patronize. Her opposition is based on sound arguments regarding individual freedoms and reliance on smoking customers, who would drink elsewhere. But I'd like to raise another modest economic argument.

The proposed ban would undermine the profitability of a niche market: Milwaukee's existing non-smoking bars and restaurants. Granted, they are few, but that fact implicitly reveals truths about such a market.

The demand for non-smoking bars and restaurants cannot be high. That is not to say that non-smokers, like the Tribune's writer, don't desire to have a drink without the company of smokers. It means that factors in her choice of bar have led her to sacrifices, like a pair of jeans and — apparently — an early death by lung cancer.

If the ban is passed, non-smoking bars like Ardor, 607 N. Broadway, will be forced to compete with a much larger market. This may cause Ardor to lose business, as it will throw into sharp relief its other differentials — location, pricing, menu, parking, etc. It would be unfair and inefficient to rob businesses of their competitive edge simply so you don't have to take a cab to the bar.

The smoking ban has the potential to do serious harm to the bar-going public and to the owners of smoking and non-smoking bars alike.

I propose that anyone who refuses to enjoy the company of smokers in bars neither suffer unduly nor move to New York. Rather, they should drink where there is no smoke.

This viewpoint was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 27, 2005.