This paper analyzes the welfare effects of a public smoking ban in bars. We construct a model that captures crucial … features of bar life: competing bars, social interaction, and heterogenous preferences for a smoking ban. Smokers and non … the smoking regime strategically. Since the (dis)utility from smoking and social interaction are substitutes, the smoking …

smokers to stop smoking and stay with them, even though disutility from smoking exceeds utility from social interaction …. Overall, smoking is unduly often accepted when accommodating smoking is the social norm. The introduction of smoking and non-smoking … areas does not overcome this specific inefficiency. We conclude that smoking bans may represent a required (second …