New bill would allow new cigar bars to open, launching fears over indoor smoking
MADISON - Newly proposed legislation could soon allow more cigar bars to open in Wisconsin, nearly 15 years after the state passed a law to make indoor spaces smoke free.
The bill, which is currently being circulated for co-sponsors, would allow taverns to sell cigars and pipe tobacco, which could then be smoked on the bar's premises. In order to sell tobacco, the bar must generate at least 15% of its income from the sale of cigars or pipe tobacco, which cannot come from a vending machine.
Current rules only allow cigar bars that were already in operation in 2009, when legislation banning smoking indoors was passed. The smoking ban went into effect in July 2010, banning indoor smoking at all establishments except for a small selection of cigar bars.
Since then, those interested in smoking a pipe or cigar indoors while they enjoy a drink have been limited to a small handful of establishments, such as Shaker's Cigar Bar in Milwaukee or Maduro Cigar Bar in downtown Madison.
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Rep. Nate Gustafson, R-Neenah, said the bill will simply allow for a free market for cigar bars, instead of limiting the number of establishment to those in existence years ago. Gustafson, who is one of the authors of the bill, said he was approached by a constituent looking to open a new cigar bar.
"This is about consumer freedom and business owners who want to go down this path of opening up their own cigar lounge," he said.
Bob Weiss, the owner of Shaker's Bar in Milwaukee, said he supports the opening of more establishments that offer patrons the opportunity to enjoy cigars indoors.
"From our perspective, the more cigar lounges, the merrier," he said in an email Wednesday. "It will slow some of the demonetization of premium cigars."
But there is pushback against the bill, too.
Registered in opposition are the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards, the Wisconsin Medical Society, the Wisconsin Public Health Association and the Wisconsin Society for Respiratory Care.
In online testimony, Molly Collins, the advocacy director for Wisconsin for the American Lung Association, said the bill would only serve to eliminate some places where patrons are currently breathing smoke-free air indoors.
"Allowing more tobacco bars creates a significant loophole in clean indoor air protections andweakens decades of progress in preventing exposure to secondhand smoke and reducingtobacco use," she said. "We should not go backwards."
Gustafson said that he understands the point of view of health organizations, but at the end of the day it's up to the consumer.
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"We're not forcing people to go into cigar bars. This is really about someone's individual freedoms to do this," he said. "We're not trying to repeal the smoking ban, we're just trying to say that we'll you've already allowed this part of the industry to do this, so why can't we allow more individuals to expand on this very specific area?"
The city of Milwaukee is also considering supporting the bill. The Judiciary & Legislation Committee of the City Council discussed the bill Tuesday, and signaled support but city staff said they didn't anticipate a large rush of applicants if the bill is passed.
But concerns were expressed about how the city could verify that 15% of the bar's revenue comes from pipe tobacco or cigars, so committee members requested a local audit of any applicants.
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X at @SchulteLaura.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New bill would allow more cigar bars to open in Wisconsin
