In cities everywhere,cigar bars are no match for tougher smoking bans.

by Karen Goodwin
Spring 2005


THE CIGAR BAR FAD THAT CAUGHT FIRE IN THE MID-1990s has been all but snuffed out by state and city anti-smoking ordinances across the U.S.

California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts and New York ban smoking in all public places, including restaurants and bars. Florida, Utah and Idaho also have strong state laws, but exempt bars.

Meanwhile, city ordinances have stamped out smoking in Dallas, some suburbs of Chicago and other locales throughout the nation. New Jersey is considering an initiative to make most indoor public places smoke-free, except for cigar lounges and casino bars.

Even foreign countries have lit up at the idea of stubbing out smoking. Ireland, Italy, Norway and Scotland have wide-ranging anti-smoking laws, while partial bans exist in France, Germany and other countries. Britain, Spain and Russia are among those considering smoking bans. Even Cuba, the world’s cigar mecca, has prohibited smoking in enclosed public spaces, though smoking-designated areas are allowed within restaurants. The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan may have gone the farthest: It may be the first country to introduce a total ban on tobacco sales.

The move to ban smoking “is the world we live in,” says Barry Macdonald, owner of the David P. Ehrlich Company, the nation’s second-oldest tobacco store, and Churchill’s cigar lounge, both in Boston’s Millennium Hotel. “It’s a trend that’s happening everywhere. So the dynamics, climate and overall business environment has changed.”

Indeed, bans have halted smoking in cigar-friendly restaurants such as steakhouses and forced cigar bars to close in various cities and states. Only a handful of cigar lounges remain in some major cities. New York has been left with just three true cigar bars, two of which-Hudson Bar and Books and Lexington Bar and Books-are managed by Arun Mirchandani. “It’s been a tough transition,” he says of New York’s anti-smoking laws, enacted in 2003. “We’re doing well because we had opened the city’s first dedicated cigar bar in 1991 and did qualify [for a smoking license].”

Exemptions that allow smoking permits vary from state to state and city to city. Boston’s smoking ban went into effect in 1998, prompting the David P. Ehrlich Company to add Churchill’s cigar lounge to help qualify for a permit, since 60 percent of an establishment’s business must be generated from the sale of tobacco products. “Historically, we were a full-service tobacconist open from 9 to 5,” Macdonald says. “Today we’re a 9 a.m.-to-midnight operation. In the evening, the lounge takes over.” (Massachusetts passed a statewide smoking ban in 2004, but the David P. Ehrlich Company was held to Boston’s earlier law.)

Since expansion in New York was snuffed out, Mirchandani says his company is growing worldwide, recently opening Tynska Bar and Books in Prague. Additional locations are planned for Bucharest and Berlin.

The food and beverage industry had issued dire warnings that smoking bans would kill their business. But a Zagat report found that one year after New York’s comprehensive smoke-free law took effect, business receipts for restaurants and bars increased, employment rose, the number of liquor licenses increased and virtually all establishments complied with the law.

“If you asked business owners who had a separate, petitioned-off bar area [that allowed smoking] if they’d prefer that kind of set-up, I think they’d say yes,” Macdonald opines. “But the reality is that people will still go to fine dining establishments and eat. They may have to look harder for a separate place in which to have a cordial and cigar.”
Bans may have forced cigar lovers to find alternative venues where they can light up, but apparently they haven’t put a dent in sales. Imports of premium handmade cigars have increased steadily over the last few years, according to Cigaraficionado.com.

Still, “the average cigar aficionado doesn’t smoke three to four cigars a day,” Macdonald says. “True cigar lovers smoke between three and five cigars a week. They like to pick their moments, perhaps sit in a nice leather chair next to a fire with a brandy or espresso. It’s all about relaxation.”

That’s a sentiment confirmed by Roy Stein, owner and operator of Cigarfriendly.com. “Cigar smokers don’t have to get off an airplane and light up a cigar,” he says. “They’re rabid enthusiasts who seek out the best places to buy them and the best places to smoke them.” Web forums, newsgroups and online publications such as Cigaraficionado.com and Cigarweekly.com all advise readers on establishments worldwide where they can still kick back, relax and enjoy a good smoke.

“When people are restricted and to some degree lose their right to do what they enjoy, they seek it out more,” Macdonald says. “That’s just human nature.”

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karen goodwin is a freelance writer based in Colorado. Email Karen at editor@executivetravelmag.com.