June 2, 2014. 82% of Russian restaurateurs expect a complete ban on smoking to result in declining numbers of visitors, the findings of Yuri Levada Center's recent research on a complete ban on smoking in restaurants on June 1, 2014 state. This information was provided by activists of the Smokers' Rights Movement.

Most of restaurant business owners and managers surveyed (82%) believe that a complete ban on smoking in restaurants will effect a drop in the number of customers. 17% of respondents feel that the customer turnover will remain the same. Only one of those surveyed expects a considerable increase in customer inflow, while 82% of restaurateurs are positive that a complete ban on smoking stands for discrimination of smokers.

Restaurateurs are convinced that smoking in restaurants and cafes should be allowed: 69% are in favor of the idea of smoking in specially designated places, and 26% of respondents feel that there should be no limits imposed on smoking. Only 5% of those surveyed support a complete ban.

The survey was carried out in 48 different cities, including Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Volgograd, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, and other locations.