Numbers data are powerful weapons, especially in a debate like that over the proposed smoking ban that Jefferson City voters will consider Tuesday.
But just as they are powerful, they are also pliable to prove a point for either side, like what effect it will have on businesses if set into motion.
In 2008, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis' publication "Regional Economic Development" contained a study by Michael R. Pakko that examined the economic impact of a smoking ban in Columbia by analyzing sales tax data from the first year since it was enacted in 2007.
Pakko's study found that the smoking ban was directly responsible for a decline in sales tax revenue.
However, there is just as much information available to contradict this information.