Group wary of cigar smoke

LINCOLN (AP) -- Now that an anti-smoking group has lost the fight over whether cigar bars exist in Nebraska, it's focusing on where the smoke blows.

Mark Welsch, president of the Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution, told regulators Thursday that smoking in cigar bars shouldn't be exempt from the state's anti-smoking law if smoke infiltrates neighboring shops or businesses.

Welsch, speaking before the Liquor Control Commission during a public hearing in Lincoln, also said a rule requiring ventilation systems in cigar bars should be struck down. He said it gives the impression that the air is clean.

Only an "indoor tornado" could make cigar-bar air safe, added Cindy Jeffrey of Lincoln, executive director of Health Education Inc. "And that's probably not practical."

Cigar bars will become exempt Aug. 30 from a state law that bans smoking inside most public buildings and private businesses including bars and restaurants. Legislators approved the exemption this year.

To be considered a cigar bar, at least 10 percent of a bar's sales must come from cigars and other tobacco and tobacco-related products not including cigarettes. Cigar bar applications won't be accepted until after the liquor commission finalizes the rules.

The state Liquor Control Commission will oversee the cigar bars. Executive director Hobert Rupe said the three commissioners would vote on rules at its September meeting. Once Gov. Dave Heineman and Attorney General Jon Bruning sign off on the rules, cigar bars could begin opening by early October.

About 30 people, including several prospective cigar bar owners, attended the public hearing to discuss the commission's working draft of rules.

"Everybody realized the fight over whether we're going to have cigar bars was over in the Legislature," Rupe said after the hearing. "Now people want to make sure the will of the Legislature is fair and equitable as it's applied going forward. I felt a lot of camaraderie in there."

Seven people testified during the hour-long hearing. Some discussed what classifies a cigar and a walk-in humidor, a room where temperature and humidity are kept at levels appropriate for cigar storage.

But most of the hearing focused on smoke.

Welsch said the commission should add a rule that a cigar bar would cease to allow smoking if, acting on a complaint, a liquor commission inspector finds that smoke is seeping into a neighboring business. He said the issue could crop up for cigar bars in strip malls.

Welsch said smoking could resume in the offending cigar bar only if the smoke infiltration is prevented from recurring.

There also was testimony against commission member Bob Batt's proposal that would require a cigar bar to have "an adequate smoke abatement system."

Bill Peters of Lincoln, representing the Cigar Association of America, said whether or not to have a ventilation system should be a business decision. He said there is no way to define what would be adequate and that cigar bar proprietors probably would have a ventilation system anyway for the comfort of their customers.

Welsch said a smoke-abatement requirement could subject the state to future legal action. He said if a nonsmoker worked at a cigar bar for 10 years and later was diagnosed with lung cancer, that person could allege that the state was responsible.

"The person could say the liquor control commission's people verified the ventilation was adequate, I still got lung cancer, so the state's taxpayers should now pay for my cancer treatments," he said.

Batt said an air-exchange system simply would make the environment more enjoyable for customers. He characterized Welsch's scenario as "smoke and mirrors."