Bill to allow cigar bars in Montana spurs debate

If Montana allows cigar bars, residents and tourists will be able to enjoy a “premium, hand rolled cigar” on their visits, one proponent argued.

“A lot of folks are looking for a particular hospitality experience when they come visit our state and other areas, and we believe Senate Bill 150 goes a long way in allowing for this unique opportunity in limited circumstances,” said Jessie Luther, on behalf of the Hospitality & Development Association of Montana.

But the bill, heard Thursday in the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs committee, would hurt workers who don’t have a choice about the air they breathe, and it would undermine the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act passed in 2005, opponents said.

“I feel like it’s like a step backwards in time if we allow this to occur,” said Mitch Bradley, who said he saw his father suffer the consequences of smoking.

Sen. Wylie Galt, R-Martinsdale, said he’s been bringing similar legislation since 2017, and it’s a heavy lift. But Galt said 12 other states exempt bars from their clean indoor air acts, and he believes Montana can allow cigar bars with a narrowly crafted exception too.

“We are not new in any of this,” Galt said.

A representative for the Cigar Association of America said the bill has “pretty good sideboards,” and the group would support the bill with an unspecified amendment, although Galt said he wasn’t sure he’d consider it friendly.

The bill would allow a cigar bar endorsement for businesses under certain conditions, including ones that hold an all-beverages license and gaming or gambling license, only offer cigars sold on site, and don’t allow other tobacco or marijuana products, among other conditions.

Opponents at the hearing, including high school students and public health representatives, argued the bill would reverse progress in Montana and set a dangerous precedent that would open the door for marijuana bars and hookah bars.

Several other bills related to smoking and vaping also are under consideration at the Montana Legislature.

In a separate hearing on Thursday, Sen. Becky Beard, R-Elliston, pitched Senate Bill 98, which would tax traditional cigarettes and ones that are “heat-not-burn,” or HBN, differently. Beard said HBN would be taxed at 85 cents a pack compared to traditional cigarettes at $1.70 a pack.

Beard said one-in-eight Montana adults smoke, most from lower income levels, and the bill would provide harm reduction and help people quit. The products heat tobacco, releasing a vapor as opposed to actually burning the cigarette.

Philip Morris International supported the bill and argued a product with less risk should also be taxed less.

However, representatives from the American Lung Association of Montana, Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Montana Academy of Family Physicians, and American Heart Association spoke in opposition to the bill.

Jackie Semmens, with the American Heart Association in Montana, said heat-not-burn cigarettes are a new area for the tobacco industry, which has “historically and consistently” misled the public about the health impacts of its products.

“These products have not been around long enough to fully understand their dangers,” said Semmens, who also said HNB cigarettes are not approved cessation devices.

At the hearing about cigar bars, one opponent pointed to a poll that shows 89% of Montanans support the Clean Indoor Air Act. A 2021 study from New Bridge Strategy also found three quarters of Montanans were concerned about tobacco use.

Dr. Richard Sargent, co-author of a medical study that showed heart attacks dropped 40% in Helena when a local smoking ban was enforced a couple of decades ago — and ticked back up after the ban was overturned — said said cigar smoke is not special or different than cigarette smoke.

Sargent said the legislation would be a violation of the Clean Indoor Air Act, which protects employees and nonsmokers.

“We don’t really think that anybody should be granted their own personal exemption from that law,” Sargent said.

Sargent also said the amount of ventilation that would be needed to ensure clean air indoors is cost prohibitive based on studies from engineers.

Sen. Bob Phalen, R-Lindsay, said people have to breathe in smoke during forest fires, but with cigar smoke, they can choose. Phalen also said he wears a nicotine patch to prevent disease.

“I see no problem with a cigar bar,” Phalen said.

Sargent said nicotine is a normal neurotransmitter in the brain but there is no benefit to the human body from excess. In response to a question, he also said an N95 mask will only filter about 5% of the particles in “side stream” smoke, or smoke from a cigar or cigarette that goes directly into the air.

A fresh air supply through a vented suit would be needed to truly protect an employee from contaminants, Sargent said.

Chair Mark Noland, R-Bigfork, said if the bill passes, he would like to ensure health inspectors have access to full respirators, which he estimated at $275 apiece.

“We can do that to safeguard anybody going in so they don’t have to be exposed,” Noland said.

Lisa Dworak, with the Confluence Public Health Alliance, representing nearly every health department in the state, opposed the bill, in part because she said the enforcement piece is confusing.

Dworak said it appears the Department of Public Health and Human Services would enforce the bill, but doing so would run contrary to its mission.

C.B. Pearson, who has worked on tobacco disease prevention for 45 years including in Montana, said the state’s act was a compromise in 2005. He said one concern at the time was that the legislation never be penetrated.

“Today, we’re seeing that, and we have seen that before, but I think this is a more serious challenge,” Pearson said.

The American Heart Association, Montana Medical Association and Association of Montana Public Health Officials also opposed the bill.

The committee did not take immediate action on the cigar bar bill, and Galt said he will bring an amendment for minor changes, including to drop the amount of gross income businesses need to generate from cigars to operate to be more realistic.

The bill to assess taxes differently for heat-not-burn cigarettes also had not been voted on Thursday, according to an online legislative status update.