OLYMPIA — State lawmakers are looking to ease Washington’s strict smoking ban by allowing cigar and pipe smoking for a limited number of tobacco retailers. A key Senate committee approved a bill Thursday that would permit up to 100 cigar lounges and 500 retail tobacco shops to allow smoking. Cigarettes would still be banned. Businesses would have to pay annual fees of $17,500 to obtain cigar lounge endorsements and $6,000 to obtain tobacco store endorsements. Supporters say the bill could help some local businesses hurt by the smoking ban that voters approved in 2005. Critics say the m ... Jump to full article >>

SPOKANE, Wash. | As quests for freedom go, it’s not exactly the fight against apartheid in South Africa. But cigar smokers around the country are fed up with smoking bans that prevent them from enjoying stogies in cigar bars with friends. A rising number of states have moved to exempt cigars from indoor smoking bans, often by establishing cigar bars or smoking lounges inside cigar stores. Pro-cigar groups have sprung up nationally and in most states, spreading a message that their product is fundamentally different from cigarettes. Cigar smokers are not interested in exposing the general pub ... Jump to full article >>

The public will breathe a little easier, knowing the Birmingham City Commission is taking extra precautions in reviewing a bistro plan for Churchill’s Cigar Bar. On Monday, the commission spent about an hour reviewing the proposal before postponing any action until April 25. The commission in particular wants to make sure the establishment has an adequate ventilation system that not only provides fresh air for customers inside the bistro, but also the surrounding area. “If we get it wrong we’re going to have people walking around downtown Birmingham on a warm summer day and sayi ... Jump to full article >>

Brian Gottlob, an economist from Dover, announced recently that findings from PolEcon Research contradict claims that New Hampshire revenues will benefit from a decrease in the state cigarette and other tobacco products tax. Gottlob completed a review of NH specific tobacco sales and tax changes over a 10-year period and the possible impact on other state revenue; gasoline, rooms and meals, and alcohol. The PolEcon report found no correlation between tobacco sales and the sales of these other retail products, which provide tax revenue to support the NH state budget. His findings disprove those ... Jump to full article >>

A statewide smoking ban with key exemptions has passed the Indiana House and now awaits action in the Senate. The International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association is urging its members and their cigar loving customers to ensure that the exemptions stay in place. A statewide smoking ban with key exemptions has passed the Indiana House and now awaits action in the Senate. The International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association is urging its members and their cigar loving customers to ensure that the exemptions stay in place. Indiana House Bill 1018 exempts casinos and ho ... Jump to full article >>

A bill to allow smoking in cigar lounges and tobacco shops in Washington has been moving forward in the state Legislature, but it has been controversial every step of the way. Senate Bill 5542, which had a hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee today, would set up special smoking endorsements people could buy and contribute the money to the state’s Basic Health Program, a proposal supporters say would be safe but opponents argue would be bad health policy for Washington. Sen. Jerome Delvin, a Richland Republican and the bill’s sponsor said it was a good opportunity for the state to ... Jump to full article >>

Gallagher used to enjoy strolling down the street every morning, getting a cup of java and a newspaper, and smoking a cigar in Concordia Park, near his home in the DeMun neighborhood. “It’s one of life’s simple pleasures,” said Gallagher, 55, a retired vineyard owner from Napa, Calif., who moved to Clayton about three years ago. That pleasure ended on Jan. 1, when Clayton’s ban on smoking in parks went into effect. On Thursday, while puffing on cigars on the sidewalk abutting Shaw Park near downtown Clayton, Gallagher and his legal team announced they had filed a ... Jump to full article >>

Cuban officials say cigar sales rebounded slightly in 2010 after plummeting the previous year amid the global economic crisis. Government-run tobacco company Habanos SA says sales were $368 million last year, a rise of 2 percent. That followed an 8 percent drop in 2009. Habanos vice president Javier Terres said Monday that the company is “moderately satisfied.” Terres said the top buyers of the premium, hand-rolled Cuban cigars were Spain, France and China — which replaced Germany as the third-biggest importer. Habanos is a mixed company comprising British-owned, Madrid-base ... Jump to full article >>

With smoking bans becoming more and more popular these days, cigar festivals are also rising in popularity. Events, such as the annual Big Smoke put on by Cigar Aficionado, are popular because they give cigar enthusiasts the chance to get cigars directly from the people that make them. It can be a thrill to rub discuss a cigar with Avo Uvezian, Pete Johnson, or Rocky Patel. At cigar festivals, you are given the opportunity to meet the top names in cigars under one roof. On Sunday, April 3, Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium will host the New Jersey Cigar Festival. Scheduled to appea ... Jump to full article >>

While other students’ hobbies include playing video games or sports on campus, Jon Lung spends his time learning about cigars and immersing himself in the culture. Since he was 18 years old, the marketing senior said he has smoked more than 440 different kinds of cigars. Every cigar carries a different taste and sensation, which Lung has recorded in a series of four journals that he plans to turn into a book. As Lung sat among nearly 20 MSU students in the back room of Corona Smoke Shop, 3490 Okemos Road, in Okemos, for one of the first meetings of the MSU Cigar Connoisseur Club, he found co ... Jump to full article >>

An Idaho Senate panel will consider banning blunt wraps, products that the backer of the ban said can be used to mask the use of marijuana and other illegal drugs. Blunt wraps, which can also be called tobacco wrappers and roll your own cigar wraps, are hollow wrappers made of reconstituted tobacco that can be flavored and filled with a smokeable product. The flavors, which include tobacco, apple, and mango, and the shape of the wraps could hide the look and smell of marijuana, according to ban supporters. They are already banned in Canada, Boston, and New York City, but Illinois lawmakers rej ... Jump to full article >>