Cigar Weekly

A. THEY'RE NOT LEGAL. THEY'RE NOT LICENSED UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH." IT'S BEEN AGAINST THE LAW FOR MORE THAN A YEAR. BUT THAT HASN'T STOPPED THE SMOKING BANDITS...NEW MEXICO BARS THAT ALLOW THEIR CUSTOMERS TO ILLEGALLY LIGHT UP. HERE. AND HERE. AND HERE. A NEWS 13 INVESTIGATION FINDS SOME ALBUQUERQUE BARS BLATENTLY DEFYING NEW MEXICO'S SMOKING BAN. AND, EVEN THOUGH LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT IS WELL AWARE OF THE VIOLATIONS, THEY HAVEN'T ISSUED THEM CITATIONS. PARK: "I WANT THE CITY TO START ENFORCING THE DEE JOHNSON CLEAN INDOOR AIR ACT. I WANT THEM TO START ISSUING CITATIONS, I WANT THEM TO SHUT DOWN THE BARS THAT ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW." STATE REPRESENTATIVE AL PARK SPONSORED THE BILL THAT BANS SMOKING IN ALL PUBLIC PLACES INCLUDING BARS. PARK: "I'M ABSOLUTELY PROUD OF THIS LAW. THIS LAW IS IN MY ESTIMATION THE SINGLE GREATEST PIECE OF PUBLIC HEALTH LEGISLATION THAT WE'VE PASSED IN THE LAST DECADE." BUSH: "SECOND HAND SMOKE IS A NOTORIOUS CAUSE OF CANCER, HEART DISEASE AND LUNG DISEASE....THE SURGEON GENERAL IS VERY CLEAR, THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT PEOPLE FROM SECOND HAND SMOKE." THE LEGISLATURE CREATED ONE EXCEPTION TO THE PUBLIC SMOKING BAN. CIGAR BARS. BUSH: "THEIR INTENTION WAS TO RECOGNIZE CIGAR BARS THAT WERE ALREADY IN EXISTENCE THE YEAR THE LAW TOOK EFFECT WHICH WAS 2007. BUT THEREAFTER TO DISALLOW THE OPENING OF NEW FUTURE CIGAR BARS." BARKER: "TO QUALIFY AS A CIGAR BAR, YOU MUST APPLY FOR A PERMIT FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. YOU MUST BE A LIQUOR ESTABLISHMENT THAT SOLD, LAST YEAR, AT LEAST $10,000 WORTH OF CIGARS, OR, 10% OF YOUR TOTAL SALES CAME FROM CIGARS. GET THE PERMIT AND SMOKING IS ALLOWED." WE MET WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S LARRY ELMORE THREE WEEKS AGO. ELMORE: "Q. HOW MANY PERMITS HAVE YOU ISSUED FOR CIGAR BARS? A. WE HAVE NOT ISSUED ANY PERMITS." NEVERTHELESS, A NEWS 13 INVESTIGATION FINDS SIX ALBUQUERQUE BARS THAT ALLOW SMOKING ANYWAY. LIKE, NEDS ON THE RIO GRANDE. THEY PEDDLE A HANDFUL OF CHEAP CIGARS FROM A BOX BEHIND THE BAR AND OPENLY DEFY THE LAW BY ALLOWING CUSTOMERS TO SMOKE. BUSH: "Q. CAN SOMEBODY HAVE A CLEVER IDEA AND SELL CIGARS AND CALL THEMSELVES A CIGAR BAR AND THEN HAVE SMOKING? A. NOT IF YOU ARE OPENING A BUSINESS TODAY, NO." THE STONEFACE TAVERN ALSO IGNORES THE SMOKING BAN. THEY CLAIM TO BE A CIGAR BAR. THERE'S A CATCH ....THEY DON'T SELL CIGARS. WAITRESS: "Q. DO YOU HAVE ANY CIGARS? A. NO." BILLYS LONGBAR IGNORES THE SMOKING BAN, TOO. THEY CREATE AN ILLUSION BY SELLING A FEW STOGIES OUT OF A DISPLAY CASE. BUT WHAT YOU WON'T FIND AT THIS SO CALLED CIGAR BAR IS A PERMIT. BILLYS IS A SMOKING BANDIT. AND SO IS PAUL'S MONTEREY INN. DOCUMENTS SHOW, PAUL'S DID NOT SELL ENOUGH CIGARS LAST YEAR TO QUALIFY AS A LEGAL CIGAR BAR. PARK: "PAULS MONTEREY IS ONE OF THE OLDEST ESTABLISHED WELL KNOWN RESTAURANTS IN ABQ AND I WOULD EXPECT THEM, OF ALL RESTAURANTS TO BE LEADERS IN FOLLOWING THE LAW...LARRY, NOT ONE SINGLE CITATION HAS BEEN ISSUED TO PAUL'S MONTEREY. NOT ONE, DESPITE REPEATED, NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS TO THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE." LOUIE'S PUB MAKES NO PRETENSE ABOUT BEING A CIGAR BAR. THEY JUST ALLOW SMOKING IN OPEN DEFIANCE OF THE LAW. AND THEN THERE'S IMBIBE, ALBUQUERQUE'S NEWEST HOT SPOT, COMPLETE WITH A WALK IN HUMIDOR AND A BIG SELECTION OF CHOICE CIGARS. HARRIS: "Q. IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU TO ALLOW YOUR CUSTOMERS TO SMOKE IN THIS BAR FOR YOUR SUCCESS? A. YES, I DO BELIEVE IT IS. THAT IS PART OF THE ENVIRONMENT WE ARE TRYING TO CREATE HERE." IMBIBE MAY LOOK LIKE A CIGAR BAR TODAY. BUT, TO BE LEGAL, THE ESTABLISHMENT MUST HAVE BEEN A CIGAR BAR LAST YEAR. THAT'S THE LAW. BARKER: "LAST YEAR, IMBIBE WAS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION. THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A LIQUOR LICENSE. NOW, TO QUALIFY AS A CIGAR BAR THEY NEED TO SELL CIGARS IN 2007. SO HOW DID THEY PULL IT OFF? IN LATE DECEMBER, BAR OWNERS OPENED FOR FOUR DAYS AND SOLD 19 CIGARS TOTALING $206 TO FRIENDS AND PASSERSBY." IS IT ENOUGH TO JUST SELL CIGARS? .ELMORE: "THE LAW CLEARLY STATES YOU NEED TO BE A BAR AND SELLING A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE AND A CERTAIN TOTAL OF CIGARS. Q. SO IF BY THE END OF 2007 YOU ARE NOT A BAR BUT YOU SOLD CIGARS, THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE COMPLIANT WITH THE STATUTE? A. MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAW IS THAT WOULD BE CORRECT." BARKER: "OR MAYBE NOT. LAST WEEK, HEALTH DEPARTMENT LAWYERS CALLED TO SAY, THEY'VE CHANGED THEIR MIND. AFTER CONSULTING THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT SAYS IT WILL ISSUE IMBIBE A PERMIT, MAKING IT NEW MEXICO'S FIRST AND ONLY LEGAL CIGAR BAR." SO WHILE IT IS LEGAL TO SMOKE HERE...ITS NOT AT THE STONE FACE. AND LOUIES. AND NEDS. BILLY'S. AND PAULS. DESPITE REPEATED VIOLATIONS AT BARS ACROSS ALBUQUERQUE, THE CITY HAS NOT CITED ANY OF THE SMOKING BANDITS. IN FACT, SEVERAL OF THEM HAVE BLATENTLY IGNORED DIRECT ORDERS FROM FIRE INSPECTORS TO STOP SMOKING. PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR PETE DINELLI CALLS THE ISSUE A POLITICAL HOT POTATO. DINELLI: "WE'RE TRYING TO GIVE THIS SOME TIME, AND AS SOON AS WE'RE COMFORTABLE IN GOING FORWARD WITH ISSUING CITATIONS WE WILL DO SO....WE ARE GOING TO ISSUE CITATIONS. Q. WHEN? A. WHEN WE FEEL ITS APPROPRIATE." .CADIGAN: "THIS IS A SERIOUS PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE AND IT NEEDS TO BE TREATED LIKE THAT BY THE ADMINISTRATION, BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT." BUSH: "THE VAST MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN ALBUQUERQUE HAVE VOLUNTARILY DECIDED TO ABIDE BY THE LAW...IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THERE ARE A SMALLER NUMBER OF BUSINESSES WHO HAVE CHOSEN NOT TO FOLLOW THE LAW AND THERE SEEMS TO BE NO REPERCUSSIONS SO FAR." PARK: "AND WHAT HAPPENS LARRY IF WE SAY, OH ITS JUST CIGARETTES, THEY DON'T HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE LAW? OH ITS NOT A BIG DEAL, I'M NOT REALLY HURTING ANYONE. THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, ESPECIALLY WITH SMOKING, YOU ARE HURTING SOMEONE...WE ARE A SOCIETY OF LAWS AND THOSE LAWS MUST BE ENFORCED." NEW MEXICO JOINS 16 OTHER STATES IN BANNING SMOKING IN ALL PUBLIC PLACES. THE STATE LAW IS NAMED FOR A FORMER FIRST LADY -- THE LATE DEE JOHNSON.