Arizona business as a whole was not significantly affected by a 2006 statewide smoking band, according to a recent W. P. Carey study, but some restaurants and bars have had a harder time adapting their business strategy.

The study was commissioned by the Arizona Department of Health Services and conducted by the W. P. Carey School of Business; the report was released in early September.

According to the study, some businesses with outdoor patios allowing smoking have benefited from the ban on smoking, while other establishments without smoking areas have lost revenue.

The Smoke-Free Arizona Act, passed in November 2006, prohibits smoking in most indoor public places, including restaurants and bars.

The study of the ban’s economic impact included a survey of all types of dining establishments, including bars, microbreweries, private clubs and government facilities, such as a public golf courses, research economist Eva Madly said in an e-mail.

Madly, an economist at the L. William Seidman Research Institute at the Carey School, assisted in the study.

Bill Weigele, president of the Arizona Licensed Beverage Association, contested the study’s findings and said that the smoking ban has exacerbated the bad situation for bars and similar establishments.

The association represents licensed beverage retailers in Arizona.

Weigele, a non-smoker, said establishments like bars and restaurants are already suffering from Arizona’s tough DUI laws and a slow economy, and the smoking ban exacerbates the negative factors.

“It’s a feel-good report for somebody,” he said. “For them to come out and say there was little or no impact on our industry is a waste of money and a farce.”

Nevertheless, Weigele said the association is “not going to waste any money or time” trying to reverse the smoking ban and instead will look for other solutions to increase business.

Weigele said he has heard from many smaller establishments and “mom-and-pop” businesses that have suffered more from the ban than other places.

But the study showed that smaller businesses were not affected more negatively than larger businesses, Madly said.

Will Humble, deputy director for the Arizona Department of Health Services, said the smoking ban has created healthier environments for Arizonans.

“Everyone’s benefiting from a cleaner environment, especially folks who work in the bar and restaurant industry,” he said.

Lorna Corak, a communications junior who works at Sidelines Tavern & Grill in Chandler, said she has had a better work experience in a smoke-free environment.

“Even though I’m a smoker, I kind of like the smoke ban because I’m not around it as much,” Corak said.

She added that Sidelines may have benefited from the ban, because it has an outdoor patio that gives it an edge over establishments without a smoking area.

Weigle said that while there should be smoking regulations, places that cater to strictly adults should not have such bans in place.

“Where people join together to have a social experience that involves alcohol those people are used to being in smoke-filled atmospheres,” Weigele said. “They’re adults, they should be able to make that choice.”

Chad Wilford, a general manager at Fat Tuesday on Mill Avenue, said because of Tempe’s earlier regulations on smoking, the statewide smoking ban leveled the playing field by eliminating competition in other cities.

Tempe passed in 2002 a smoking ban similar to the statewide act. Madly said there was no significant difference in the responses of establishments that had a smoking ban prior to the 2006 act.

“I think people just kind of adapt and overcome,” Wilford said.

Reach the reporter at matt.culbertson@asu.edu.