The ratio of smokers to non-smokers really is 1 in 4
The 2004 Simmons Consumer Research Study identified 25% of the US population smokes. The same study indicated that of the 70 million people who bowled at least once last year, 25% smoked. Of the league bowlers who responded to the survey, 25% said they smoked. And 25% of the proprietors in the study smoked. That means for every bowler who smokes there are 3 that do not.

A frequently heard comment is that the majority of bowlers smoke and if they can’t smoke, they will quit. Statistics are an average and every center has its own bowler profile, but this study found that fewer bowlers smoke than is believed and that the rate at which they would leave is also lower than the general perception. The 1997 Bowling Benchmark Strategy study concluded that the smoky environment was among the top reasons people chose not to bowl, a fact sometimes forgotten. One proprietor who personally smokes summed it up by saying, “I wish I had implemented smoking restrictions several years earlier. I have had many customers return that have told me they quit because of the second hand smoke. Had I known that is why they were leaving I would have addressed the problem sooner.”

The long term effect is most likely not as bad as one might think.
The comments supplied by proprietors who had experienced a smoking ban or restriction for more than two years reported positive impacts and outcomes that were different from their expectations. There were more positive open-ended comments than negative and there was a significant difference between the responses of proprietors who smoked and
those who did not. Over 40% of all proprietors with a smoking ban/restriction in their center feel business will increase in the long run while four percent felt that their business would be forced to close. Centers who had had a ban in place at least two years reported that some smokers who said they would quit did not.