New Cigar Lounge Could Open In Detroit Airport
Once upon a time, you could smoke a cigarette or a cigar just about anywhere you wanted to. I mean, if you watch a few movies set in between the 1950s and the 1980s, you'll see that everybody is smoking pretty much the entire movie no matter where they are. Radio hosts, journalists, businessmen, car salesman, restaurants, etc., it didn't matter who or where, everybody was puffing.
Eventually, health officials in the US began to see the effects of smoking and secondhand smoke was having on residents. They started to place restrictions on tobacco products and eventually started to ban them for those under the age of 18. Then they slowly started to limit where people were allowed to smoke and where they couldn't. I might be aging myself here, but I would beg my grandparents to say "no smoking" when they were asked what side of the restaurant they wanted to sit on.
In 2010, lawmakers across the country made it illegal to smoke inside of most buildings except for cigar bars, tobacco specialty retail stores, and gaming floors of casinos. This law has saved many people from dealing with the effects of secondhand tobacco smoke, but there are always ways around the rules.
Would You Visit An Cigar Lounge While Waiting For Your Flight At The Airport?
There are some places that are large enough like a mall, airport, train station, and other large buildings that could get around this law by opening a cigar bar, tobacco retail store, or even a casino gaming floor. Most of the time, these places receive pushback from customers and officials warning that others could deal with unwanted smoke inhalation.
The Wayne County Airport Authority is looking to join this group after taking proposals for a cigar lounge to open inside of the Detroit Metropolitain Airport. The lounge would be positioned in the McNamara terminal with an enclosed smoking area that comes equipped with state-of-the-art air handling and ventilation systems.
MLive Reports:
The move to add a cigar lounge has been met by some opposition, however, from the nonprofit advocacy group, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR). The group said travelers shouldn’t have to be exposed to secondhand smoke exposure while traveling in and out of Detroit’s airport. A survey of 600 Michigan residents with a maring of error of 4%, conducted in June by Lansing-based EPIC-MRA, found 77% of respondents opposed opening a cigar bar at Detroit Metro Airport. The survey’s margin of error was 4%.
Read More: US Officials Issues Travel Warning For Michigan Residents Going To Maldives
Officials from the WCAA hinted at the international nature of the Detroit airport and how these appeals to travelers from not only Michigan but all over the world. They do still take everyone's health and safety into consideration while making these decisions.