Image Courtesy of sxc.hu

As smoking bans sweep the nation, some states are beginning to have regrets. Well, only as far as cigars are concerned.

Many cigar lounges and tobacco shops saw a drop in sales after the smoking bans were issued in recent years. As you can imagine, selling a cigar without allowing customers to try it first proved to be a challenge for most. Luckily, state lawmakers are considering a bill that would legalize cigar lounges, as well as cigar and pipe smoking in tobacco shops. However, this good news comes with a hefty price tag. Under the proposal, cigar lounges and tobacco shops could be asked to fork up thousands of dollars for each endorsement that would allow smoking on the premises and some are even required to have their customers sign waivers. Despite these hurdles, lounge and shop owners are excited to have the option to allow smoking.

So if everything goes as planned, these cigar lounges and tobacco shops could prove to be a hot commodity. While most lounges do not sell food or alcohol, they’ll let you bring your own. And if cigar lounges are right up your alley, you might want to consider becoming a member. At clubs like New York City’s upscale Velvet Lounge (80 East 7th St., 212-533-5582), members pay a small fee to take advantage of product discounts and special offers. You can even keep your own humidor at the lounge so your stogies are fresh and ready to smoke once you arrive.

So, fellow cigar smokers, let’s cross our cigars in hope that this new bill is passed. Then it’s off to the lounge… the cigar lounge, that is.

Sources: MyNorthwest.com, VelvetCigars.com

It looks like Spain is serious about keeping their New Year’s Resolution—no more smoking. Well, at least in tapas, restaurants, casinos, airports and other public spaces. There had been softer restrictions put in place a few years ago, giving restaurant owners a choice on whether or not to allow smoking, but that—and all the smoke—has gone out the window.

The ban was largely influenced by a government report that stated as many as 50,000 people die each year in Spain due to smoke-related deaths, 1,200 of those from secondhand smoke.
Violators of the new ban will be fined 30 euros ($40 U.S.) for first time offenses and up to 100,000 euros ($133,000 U.S.) after your third strike. And though we’ve seen restaurants in the U.S. foot the bill so their customers can enjoy a smoke—we doubt they will in Spain—being fined anywhere between 60–100,000 euros per violation.

Many restaurant owners aren’t happy, feeling this will make a bad economy worse; they expect a 10% drop in business, as well as thousands of workers being laid off. Some owners are petitioning in hopes the ban will be lifted, allowing a cultural tradition to remain. Others aren’t as worried after seeing similar bans in other European countries such as France and Italy without any long-term damage.

Even though 70% of Spain’s population doesn’t smoke, they are the world’s largest consumer of Cuban cigars.

Cigar smoking will still be allowed in the casinos located in Michigan (those owned by the state and the ones owned by American Indians), tobacco stores, home offices, personal vehicles, and cigar bars. Beginning on May 1st, Michigan will be the 38th state to enforce a no-smoking public policy that carries hefty fines for violations. Says Governor Jennifer Granholm, “it will make Michigan a healthier state.”

What will lighting up at a non-designated safe place in Michigan public cost you? A $100 grace fine for the first offense which skyrockets to $500 for each offence afterwards.

What about you, reader? Has your state jumped on the no-smoking bandwagon? If so, how are you coping? Do you find that the quality of your life has diminished any because you are prohibited from enjoying a smoke, say, after dinner or with an evening cocktail among friends? We’re interested to see if any citizens from smoke-free states are staying at home to enjoy stogies.

Smokers Unwelcome in MichiganStarting May 1st, Michigan smokers are going to have a much tougher time enjoying a drag from their favorite tobacco blends. The new legislation prohibits inside smoking in bars, restaurants, and workplaces. Can you still light up at home? For the time being…Cigar smoking will still be allowed in the casinos located in Michigan (those owned by the state and the ones owned by American Indians), tobacco stores, home offices, personal vehicles, and cigar bars. Beginning on May 1st, Michigan will be the 38th state to enforce a no-smoking public policy that carries hefty fines for violations. Says Governor Jennifer Granholm, “it will make Michigan a healthier state.”What will lighting up at a non-designated safe place in Michigan public cost you? A $100 grace fine for the first offense which skyrockets to $500 for each offence afterwards. What about you, reader? Has your state jumped on the no-smoking bandwagon? If so, how are you coping? Do you find that the quality of your life has diminished any because you are prohibited from enjoying a smoke, say, after dinner or with an evening cocktail among friends? We’re interested to see if any citizens from smoke-free states are staying at home to enjoy stogies.

“It’s something Mayor Randy Halfacre wants the council to consider for fairness sake. At restaurants elsewhere in the county, diners can light up outside,” reports WIS-TV. Lexington is a town in Lexington County, South Carolina.

Some are hoping the law stays just like it is though, and object to the smoke that can waft over from one smoking table to a non-smoking table outside.

The Lexington Town Council may hold a hearing on the issue this month, according to The Greeneville News.

“With the onslaught of anti-tobacco ordinances and legislation, the coalition of traditional competitors are coming together to combat further intrusion into their businesses, to oppose measures that can impact the product choices of their patrons, to address the cost of both doing business in New York, and the cost of goods to their customers,” says  The Cigar Rights of America,

So what kind of hurdles have been put in their path? In New York City, for example, Council passed legislation back in October 2009 that put a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco, including cigars. Also last year, Council considered the idea of  an outdoor smoking ban at city parks and beaches, and “recently forced retailers in the city to display graphic images warning about tobacco use,” according to Cigar Aficionado.

What are your thoughts? How friendly do you think the state of New York is to cigar smokers and businesses?

According to The State (Columbia, South Carolina’s newspaper), Columbia’s City Council will vote soon on whether to change its smoking ban law so that cigar bars are exempt. Certain criteria would apply to cigar bars wanting to be covered by the exemption, though.

Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, who favors the change, says, “Clearly, if somebody is going into a cigar bar, they are going there to smoke,” reports The State. “The whole intent behind the ordinance still remains true because restaurants and other places were the primary places we were concerned about,” she added.

A smoking ban covering bars and restaurants for the city of Columbia has been in place since October 2008. So what prompted this amendment? Per The State’s article, retail tobacco stores are actually exempt from the current smoking ban, but when one local cigar retailer decided to add a bar and sell alcohol, then his business officially became a bar and not just a retailer, and was no longer exempt. Columbia’s council will revisit the amendment again on February 17th.

What do you think of this proposed change to the city’s smoking ban?

Earlier this January, a new North Carolina law that went into effect said the state’s bars, restaurants, and certain “lodging establishments” had to go smoke-free. The new state smoking ban exempts country clubs, nonprofit private clubs, and cigar bars from the ban, the latter which must meet certain criteria to qualify for the exemption.

With the smoking ban, North Carolina, the nation’s top tobacco producer, adds itself to the growing list of states to prohibit puffing up in bars and restaurants. Virginia, another big tobacco producer, instituted its own ban on December 1, 2009.

“Hallelujah! Another freedom lost,’ was the ironic reaction of one person who questioned the ban in a letter to the editor of the Jacksonville Daily News, adding, “The last time I checked, smoking was still legal in North Carolina. How is it possible that the government can tell you what legal activities are allowed in a privately owned establishment?”

Representing the sentiment of the smoking ban-supporter side, another person said it this way in Hendersonville’s Times-News: “That is correct, dearly beloved, public smoking inside North Carolina restaurants and bars is no longer merely discourteous, brutish and selfish, it is now a punishable offense! Excellent and way past time.”

The N.C. smoking ban is clearly dividing the public, but who’s right? Should there be laws to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke? Or do you think that smoking in general is becoming a little too vilified?