Welcome  to  Public  Health  moment from  the  University  of  Minnesota. Smoking  bans  have  not  caused economic  harm  for  bars  and  restaurants. That's  according  to  a  study  led  by epidemiologist  Gene  Forster  from the  University  of  Minnesota. Forster  and  colleagues  use state  mandated  reporting  data  from ten  Minnesota  cities  for  the  years  2003  to  2006. That  was  before  the  introduction of  a  statewide  smoking  ban, But  at  a  time  when  a  number  of  local  cities had  adopted  full  or  partial  bans  on  their  own, the  findings  show  that  there's  been  no  economic  harm  to bars  and  restaurants  as  measured  by  employment following  enactment  of  local  smoking  bans. It  also  shows  that  there's  no  benefit  to the  economic  benefit  to the  businesses  to  have a  partial  ban  in  comparison  to  a  full  ban. So  it  justifies  cities  and states  adopting  a  comprehensive  cleaning  door  air  ban. Forster  says  that  smoking  bans are  an  effective  way  to  protect  people, especially  bar  and  restaurant  employees, from  the  harmful  effects  of  secondhand  smoke. You  know,  employees  are  exposed  to  whatever  is in  the  atmosphere  of  the  environment  of  the  business. All  of  the  time  customers  come  and  go, but  employees  are  there  all  day or  during  their  whole  work  period. And  there  are  numerous  studies  that  have shown  the  harmful  effects  of secondhand  smoke  exposure  for John  Finnegan  and  public  health  moment. I'm  Mark  Ga  Briton.