The smoking ban does not make people so much unhappy…even among barowners and tobbaconists.

« No smoking ». At « Le Mirbel », a café bar tabac situated in the rue Mirbel, in the 5th district of Paris, the sign has been displayed prominently on the front door. Solemane works at the bar-restaurant near the “tabac” where he sells cigarettes. Since the smoking ban was passed on January 1st in France, a lot of tobacconists and bar owners have complained about the risk of losses in their turnover. For now, the heated terraces are flourishing in Paris to let the clients who smoke both enjoy their cigarette and their “petit noir”.
Soulemane confesses he is himself “a big smoker” but agrees with the ban: “Frankly, though I’m a smoker, I think it is a very good thing”. “I can tell you that at lunch, there used to be half of the room, that is to say, six tables, then about twelve persons, who smoked at the same time”. In such conditions, Solemane admits “you could not eat”. Now, he enjoys better work conditions. He does not have to bear a “cloud of smoke” while serving, he says. Then he believes that the smoking ban has been a great decision “even for smokers” like him.
However, he acknowledges the ban is not as good for his business as it is for his health. He has already observed a drop in the frequenting of his place, “particularly in the morning”. He assumes that he has already lost 30% of his customers since the ban was enforced on January, 1. “Then it means about 30% less of the turnover”. And the fall in the frequenting has been especially important among students. Indeed, “Le Mirbel” is located in a students’ area, not far from the University of La Sorbonne Nouvelle. Solemane admits that “students now prefer going elsewhere. Since they can’t smoke here, they won’t pay for a drink”. But Solemane can count on some clients who are courageous enough to have their coffee and their cigarette on the terrace. Yet, for the moment, his 30% turnover loss and the unusual calm which reigns on his café this morning do not seem to disturb him so much: “As far as we can still sell cigarettes”…