Unintended Consequences
The banning of smoking in bars will cause a rise in binge drinking in women, says a British study.
It points out that as bars and pubs become more appealing venues to women, female customers are more likely to consume larger amounts of alcoholic drinks than before.
And because women are marrying later, they are spending more time in pubs and other venues that serve alcohol, where they are more likely to meet men.
The study also notes that the consumption gap between men and women is narrowing and evidence of liver disease is appearing at much younger ages.
As is always the case when using laws to perform social engineering, some things are never anticipated.
By Black Jack, Saturday, 8 April , 2006 @ 12:49 pm
Based on a false assumption:
As more and more men quit smoking there has not been a corresponding decline in smoking among women. About 10 years ago a study of doctors and nurses (selected for gender dominated occupations and presumed equal exposure to the adverse consequences of tobacco use) revealed that as doctors quit all forms of tobacco in droves, nurses kept smoking cigarettes.
So, as bars continue to ban smoking, they will become more likely to attract men and repel women. The BBC got it wrong again, as usual.
By Gauis Arbo, Saturday, 8 April , 2006 @ 1:19 pm
Telegraph, actually.