Smoking in Nebraska Cigar Bar Continues, For Now

On Oct. 31, smoking in cigar bars was expected to stop in Nebraska.

In August, the State Supreme Court ruled that an exception for cigar bars made to the 2008 Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act was unconstitutional. By the end of this month, licenses for those bars were to expire, meaning smoking would be no more in cigar bars.

Today, the cigar bars caught a break. 

The Nebraska’s Attorney General office is filling an appeal on the matter and until that is resolved, the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission will continue to allow the cigar bars to renew licenses and allow smoking. Hobert Rupe, the executive directory of the agency, consulted with the state’s Attorney General’s Office before announcing the decision today.

If that exemption was not made, all 11 cigar bars in the state would become smoke-free by the end of October. 

The Supreme Court ruled in a majority decision that “there is no difference in circumstances between tobacco retail outlets and all other public places  and places of employment so as to justify the expediency of diverse legislation and that the exemption in § 71-5730(3) is therefore unconstitutional special legislation.” In other words, the 2008 law was made to limit all workers in the state from second-hand smoke, including those who choose to work in places that specialize in tobacco.

It’s unclear when the Court will rule one way or the other on the appeal. If the court upholds and certifies the ruling, it will almost certainly issue mandates forcing the cigar bars to become smoke-free.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.