Purpose: To determine the economic impact of the Iowa City, Iowa, smoke-free restaurant ordinance (IC-SFRO) using an immediate and novel approach.
Design: In this retrospective study, food permit licensure served as the measure to assess the IC-SFRO impact. The Iowa City experience provided an excellent experimental setting, as the ordinance was enacted March 1, 2002, and repealed May 7, 2003, because of preemption.
Setting: The city of Coralville served as a natural control, as it is contiguous to Iowa City, has similar population demographics, and has never enacted a smoke-free restaurant ordinance.
Measures: Food permit licensure data for all Iowa City and Coralville restaurants were obtained from the Johnson County Health Department.
Analysis: Differences in restaurant volatility were assessed using Fisher's exact probability test.
Results: The number of restaurants increased in both Iowa City and Coralville throughout the ordinance period. The ratio of the total number of restaurants in Iowa City to the total number of restaurants in the Iowa City-Coralville metropolitan area remained stable. The proportion of restaurants for each city did not differ significantly during the preordinance, ordinance, and postordinance periods.
Conclusion: The IC-SFRO did not adversely impact the restaurant industry in terms of restaurant closures. The Iowa legislature was urged to draft evidence-based legislation, such as amending preemption of the IC-SFRO, to protect and promote the health of its communities.