Delaware commissioners amend ordinance to allow smoking in cigar lounges

[JohnS]

We reported last month that Delaware County was considering an indoor smoking exemption for cigar lounges and this has now been finalised...

Delaware commissioners amend ordinance to allow smoking in cigar lounges

Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press - Tue, April 7, 2026

 

 

MUNCIE, IN — In a 2-1 vote, Delaware County commissioners on Monday, April 6, approved a change to the county's comprehensive smoking ban that will allow a "cigar lounge" to open in Muncie.

In 2011, the county adopted a comprehensive smoking ban that prohibited smoking in public places, including taverns and fraternal organizations.

Commissioners Stephen Brand and Shannon Henry on Monday approved an amendment to exempt cigar lounges from the 2011 ordinance.

Indiana has allowed such an exception to a statewide ban on smoking in public.

The amendment requires the cigar lounge to have a liquor license, prohibits those under 21 from entering the business, and limits smoking in the establishment to cigars, not cigarettes.

The third commissioner, Sherry Riggin, cast the dissenting vote.

Brand, a non-smoker, said he recently visited two cigar lounges in other counties to ask operators about their business practices. He also said he was surprised to not detect odors associated with smoking in those lounges.

Jordan Moss, director of Tobacco Free Coalition of Delaware County, said he had not encountered a "single person in favor of this amendment."

"You've created a very slippery slope on what other policies will now be asked to be amended," Moss said. "We know that that cigar bar can fully function without indoor smoking. They can still sell alcohol. They can still sell cigars. They could have even had a patio like other restaurants have done in the past."

He suggested commissioners were "playing favorites with this one sort of cigar bar."

Muncie resident Sheryl Swingley said she is "disappointed" commissioners had modified the smoking ordinance.

"I think this is a real step backwards for the health of our community," she said.

Eaton resident Don Chambers said those not wishing to visit a cigar bar shouldn't go to one.

"If you want to go there, more power to you," he said. "I appreciate you guys passing (the change to the ordinance)."

Brand said he had received "well over 100 pierces of feedback" concerning the ordinance change.

"Overwhelmingly the people were in favor of this," he said. "Those folks don't want to be named. They don't want to come out in public. They don't want shade from the haters."

Source: https://eu.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2026/04/06/ordinance-revision-will-allow-smoking-in-delaware-county-cigar-bars/89483432007/

[JohnS]

Delaware Co., Ind., Amends Smoking Ban to Allow Smoking in Cigar Lounges

April 7, 2026 - Patrick Lagreid

On Monday, Delaware County Commissioners approved an exemption to the county’s smoking ban that will clear the way for cigar stores and lounges to allow their customers to smoke.

In order to qualify for the exemption, a cigar lounge must:

• Have a liquor license;
• Prohibit anyone under 21 years old from entering;
• Limit smoking to just cigars.

Additionally, the lounge can not function as a restaurant, meaning that food and beverage sales equal or exceed 60 percent of the business’s annual gross income. After a year in operation, a lounge must generate at least 20 percent of its annual gross income from the sale of cigars and the rental of onsite humidors.

The exemption was approved by a 2-1 vote, and goes into effect 10 days after publication. News of the exemption’s passage was initially reported by TheStarPress.com.

Source: https://halfwheel.com/delaware-co-ind-amends-smoking-ban-to-allow-smoking-in-cigar-lounges/466352/

[yuppie]

Now if only we could get this same treatment here in Utah...

[Lucas Buck]

15 hours ago, yuppie said:

Now if only we could get this same treatment here in Utah...

I lived in Utah most of my life. It was a cigar smokers utopia until 2009. Second only to Nevada in my experience. Don’t hold your breath.