Smoking Ban in Bars Becoming More Popular, Survey Finds

More California bar patrons like the state’s nearly 3-year-old ban on smoking in bars than did when the prohibition was imposed, according to a new poll.

The number of bar patrons who approve of the law, which prohibits smoking in bars, rose from 59% in 1998, just after the law took effect, to 73% last summer, according to the poll.

The $50,000 survey was conducted for the state Department of Health Services by Field Research Corp., which also did the March 1998 poll.

“Despite repeated attempts by the tobacco industry and its allies to overturn this measure, the vast majority of California bar patrons agree that they want their bars to be smoke-free,” department Director Diana Bonta said Monday.

Among the bar patrons who smoke, the new poll found a decline in the number of those who admitted that they smoked in bars. Only 14% said they broke the law, compared with 25% in 1998.

The poll also found that 91% of the patrons surveyed said they either go to bars more often since 1998 or have not changed their bar-related behavior because of the law. In 1998, 85% gave the same answers.

A total of 1,000 Californians 21 and older who said they had been in a bar at least once in the last year were interviewed for the poll. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Field Research Corp. is related to the San Francisco-based organization that conducts the Field Poll on political topics.