Quebec's year-old anti-smoking law has resulted in large revenue losses for bars across the province and forced hundreds to close, a coalition of owners says.

Bingo halls have also suffered millions of dollars in losses since the province banned smoking in public places on May 31, 2006, operators said.

Peter Sergakis, president of the Union of Bar Owners of Quebec, shown at his bar in Montreal in May 2006. He is leading a constitutional challenge of the province's smoking ban.
(Ian Barrett/Canadian Press)

According to an informal survey of 300 bar owners across the province, alcohol sales have dropped by 23 per cent since the ban and between 500 and 1,000 have shut down, said Peter Sergakis, a Montreal businessman and spokesman for a coalition of bar owners.

The bars also reported a 21 per cent loss in revenue from video lottery terminals, said Sergakis, who is leading efforts to challenge Quebec's tobacco legislation.

Montreal constitutional lawyer Julius Gray said the fight against the law is based on the right to freedom of association.

"The new law has forced people to change the way they associate with other people," he told Canadian Press.

While bar owners wait for a court date for their challenge, bingo hall owners said they're limping under the new law, which they say is penalizing non-profit organizations.

Montreal-area bingo halls reported a 20 to 30 per cent drop in attendance, which translates into lower profits for community groups that rely on bingo nights to fundraise, said Carl Spratt, who owns Bingo La Plaine in the city's east end.

Bingo halls would like to be able to build separate rooms with ventilation systems to accommodate smokers, Spratt said.

With files from the Canadian Press