"Opening smokefree, we quickly won over the most demanding diners in Texas. What does that tell you?" Kent Rathbun | Chef & Proprietor, Abacus & Jasper's, Dallas "If anybody tells you smokefree measures hurt hospitality, don't believe it," says Kent Rathbun. "We're known for exploring global cuisine, introducing customers to flavors they've never encountered - inventive combinations from Mexico to the Pacific Rim. "We work hard to create an atmosphere. Why pollute it ? Secondhand smoke is a proven health hazard, a physical irritant, and deadens taste and smell. It's plain incompatible with the enjoyment of good food. "Going smokefree four years before the rest of Dallas's restaurants showed that when you focus on your guests' total comfort and well being, no one misses secondhand smoke - not even customers who still smoke! "Now, I'm not saying that going smokefree was the only key to our success. I've got a great staff and excellent suppliers, and I put in the long hours everybody does, building a dream. "But it was part of our vision from the very start. And it's wonderful to see all of Dallas catching on." Get the facts at TobaccoScam.ucsf.edu tobaccoscam Big Tobacco is lying. Again. TobaccoScam is a project of Stanton Glantz, PhD, of the School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. San Francisco, CA 94143-1390.