Detroit airport is planning to add a cigar lounge, and anti-smoking groups are freaking out, claiming it “would expose millions of travelers and airport employees to harmful secondhand smoke.”
Opponents include the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Detroit Wayne Oakland Tobacco-Free Coalition, Parents Against Vaping e-Cigarettes (PAVe), and Tobacco Free Michigan.
Naturally, the CDC prefers no smoking at all,
[S]moke-free policies that completely eliminate smoking inside airports are the only way to fully protect nonsmoking employees and travelers from [secondhand smoke] exposure.
I am not a smoker. Maybe 25 years ago I’d occasionally have a cigarette at parties. I can count the number of cigars I’ve had on one hand, and those were largely Cubans I may or may not have brought back to the United States for the novelty.
But I’d note that there are other U.S. airports with smoking areas, like Miami, Las Vegas, and Nashville. Travel to Europe they’re much more common. Frankfurt has several smoking lounges throughout he airport equipped with special ventilation systems. Munich, Vienna, Zurich, and Rome offer smoking as well. You’ll find smoking areas throughout Tokyo Haneda, Singapore Changi, Seoul and Hong Kong, too, to name just a few.
And these are some of the world’s best airports! Modern smoking lounges have proper containment and ventilation, so you wouldn’t know from outside the space that smoking was going on inside.
You’ll even find a cigar lounge in Lufthansa’s First class terminal, just inside the entrance down the hall on the right.
Emirates doesn’t just have smoking lounges throughout the Dubai airport, but there’s even a cigar bar in the A concourse first class lounge. If not for the signage, you’d never know.
Here’s the modern approach to airport smoking spaces:
- Negative Air Pressure: Smoking lounges are designed to maintain a lower air pressure compared to surrounding areas. This ensures that air flows into the lounge rather than out, keeping smoke contained.
- HEPA air filtration: Air extracted from smoking lounges is passed through HEPA filters to remove particulate matter, including smoke particles.
- Carbon Filtration: Activated carbon filters absorb odors and harmful chemicals, such as benzene and formaldehyde, to minimize their release.
- Direct Exhaust: Use of direct exhaust vents releases filtered air outside the airport building, bypassing shared air circulation systems.
- Frequent Air Exchanges: Air in smoking lounges is typically replaced every few minutes to dilute smoke concentration and maintain air quality.
To the extent these systems are properly set up and maintained, they work extremely well. Negative air pressure isolates the contents. HEPA filtration traps nearly all particulates. And passengers outside the space have limited exposure to the air in any case.
If there’s a reasonable concern it’s that Detroit airport might not maintain the systems as well as Tokyo Haneda. Put another way, there are American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers standards for indoor air quality that they should be adhering to. If you don’t believe they will, you would have concerns, but those concerns should be far broader than a cigar lounge.
In airports with modern systems like Frankfurt or Singapore – or ostensibly a new build in Detroit – the risk of secondhand smoke exposure is minimal. In older facilities, perhaps the Cairo airport terminal 3 smoking lounge down by the F gates, you might get leakage of odor and pollutants.
Twelve years ago, a study promoted by cigar lounge opponents found that airport smoking areas contributed to higher levels of detectable particulate matter, however it concluded that “the difference between the average level in the nonsmoking areas of airports with designated smoking areas and the average level in smoke-free airports was not statistically significant.”
And in any case, cigars aren’t cigarettes; brand new systems are far more prophylactically effective than already-old systems measured a dozen years ago; and there’s not really a suggestion that higher measurable particulate matter poses any specific public health risk.
CDC argues that “There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke.” That’s a sleight of hand game. There’s no risk-free flying, either, even though it’s far safer than driving! There’s no risk-free ownership of buckets. There are about 15 deaths annually attributed to buckets. “Risk-free” isn’t nearly as useful a concept as relative risk. Most of the food in airports and on board is unhealthy, and thus not risk free. The escalators at Detroit airport are riskier than this!
Travelers like a beer in the airport, marking the moment as you set off on an adventure or begin a journey. And some like a cigar, too. I think that’s ok?
Dear culture-warriors, is Michigan now a ‘red’ state, but Detroit is still a ‘blue’ city, so am I, a libcuck, supposed to love this or hate this? And is smoking ‘woke’ or not? Thanx.
I mean, okay, but why? Smoking is a harmful vice. It should be your right to do it if you want (I’ve smoked the occasional cigar myself) but do airports (public utilities) really need to be facilitating your desire to destroy yourself, in pursuit of profit? If you have a couple of hours to kill at the airport and you choose to do it in a smoke-filled room, you’re kind of an idiot. Especially since you’re probably going to have to pay a good chunk of money for the “privilege”.
The systems in the smoking lounges in Europe work very well. I am an ex-smoker and can detect tobacco smoke outdoors if someone is smoking 50-100 yards away. However, I have never smelled smoke when walking past one of these lounges in an airport.
I think a cannabis cafe using the same isolation techniques would be more popular.
I don’t smoke and never have. That said I see nothing wrong with putting smoking lounges in when done right.
Some of there groups need to get a grip. Sou can’t save people from themselves and one person, group’s opinion doesn’t need to be forced on everyone else. This goes for religion, smoking or other behaviors.
I hate the smell of cigarette or weed smoke. Glad it is gone from planes and public spaces. Contained smoking areas are fine.
Rant over.
I’d much rather there be these fishbowls, inside airport security, than walk through the some clouds from random smokers, huddled curbside and burning one for a last minute nic fix, under some vaguely-unenforced signs proclaiming “no smoking within xx of entrance.”
Besides, they provide a service for the connecting passengers who do smoke. Those folks are going to get their fix but the smoking lounge saves them the hassle of exiting and re-entering security- which actually helps the nonsmokers too.
The odor totally offends me and makes me nauseous. So if I throw up on you, it will be ok….
Oh come on. How about burnt jet fuel and the soot they produce and those you can find in the airport and in planes. Hydrocarbons are much worse and are constant in everyday air and are much worse than tobacco particulate matter.
What do we do next? Close and vacate the cities ) Mumbai, LA, Reno, Pittsburgh etc etc.
I’m not a smoker to be clear. I hate cigarette smoke.
Cigar lounges might be more of a luxury, but all airports should have at least one place airside for smoking. Many don’t, and this causes more people to go outside and then back through security, holding up the lines and putting more pressure on the TSA (like they need that).
I’m what the allergist calls ‘hyper-sensitive’ to tobacco smoke. Nobody has mentioned the stench clings to clothes, skin .. I foolishly changed seats voluntarily on Delta Business First … discovered my new seatmate must have attended a Winston convention in the ATL smoking room. Like fingernail polish remover it’s unnecessary and extremely intrusive. Instead of the room, offer a discount on Nicotine gum. And avoid the absolutely-certain litigation over second-hand smoke.
Alcohol and lottery tickets are consumed in airports, why not cigars? It’s all opt in tax revenue. People paying extra taxes should be encouraged.
I smoke like a chimney and I don’t want abstinence to be enforced on me just because some whiny people claim that it’s bad for you. I therefore approve of anywhere that has airside smoking areas like the airports mentioned above plus GSP and TPA. It makes me less irritable on a flight. And speaking of that, restore smoking areas to planes. Before you say something like “What about…”, please realize that I don’t care one bit about what you want or what anybody else wants. What I want is for all flights to be the early 60s Businessman Specials on UA. No women and their insistence on window seats combined with heavy carry-ons they cant get out of the overhead racks that delay everyone deplaning, plus steak and cigars. That’s heaven.
Smoking room on the Hindenburg worked. And yeah, there’s plenty other stuff around an airport that is worse for you.
I would rather people smoke inside a well filtered box than around the curbside where I’m waiting for an Uber.
Plus, we let people drink in airports (and even encourage it). I don’t know anybody who has gotten themselves duct taped to a seat and cuffed by the FBI from smoking in a cigar lounge. Rather the airport make money off that than something that I have to fund… (and the way most US airports work, the increased revenue has a balance in rates and charges, parking, etc).
Nashville has a cigar lounge (at least one – near the Delta gates on B). I don’t think you’d even know it’s there unless you went looking for it.
I’m not sure that the pearl clutching by the health police is really effective. Why don’t they require no salt on food instead if they are that desperate for a cause.
@ Gary — Smoking should be banned from all public places without exception.
@ DaninMCI — Like this is a serious cause of security line backups?? Good that it is so inconvenient. Smoke at home.
The groups against this are the PETA of smoking – Some people smoke, some don’t – I’m in the latter group. That said, I don’t care if folks want to smoke as long as I’m not forced to deal with the smell.
Airlines make seating in coach uncomfortable in an attempt to sell passengers more expensive seats. TSA security theater is worse for those who don’t pay for programs to bypass the worst parts of it. Why make anything comfortable for smokers in airports? Eliminate all smoking areas inside terminals and sell nicotine gum at inflated rates (not sarcasm but very cynical).
Good grief if the entrepreneur wants to take a risk on it and can do it without material smoke leaving the premises, go for it
Full disclosure: I work to some degree in the Public Health universe and support smoking reduction efforts, vaccinations, etc. However, these types of over-the-top misleading statements (e.g., “millions of lives” at stake) and actions “for the greater good” are what has dramatically damaged the brand and hurt the public’s faith in Public Health. We did it to ourselves. Some time ago, probably over a decade or so, a deliberate decision was made to “market” messages that are actually misleading or overstating points in order to get the public behind certain efforts. There were many concerned at the time that this would ultimately blow up in our faces — and it has. Lying to people “for the greater good” ultimately doesn’t work. They figure it out and all you’ve done is give your critics powerful evidence to use against you. And as a result, people lose faith in everything you do — the **good** things you’re doing as well as the B.S. some choose to spread. Sigh….
The anti-smokers want us all to just curl up and die. They’re ignorant and completely brainwashed. And they’re LOUD. These days in America, whomever screams the loudest gets their way. Having said this, I can understand part of their angst as I see my fellow smokers be completely inconsiderate. They leave cigarette butts all over the ground … even when there’s an ashtray provided. Both sides are angry Nobody will stand up to the anti-smokers, so there ya have it.
@1990
As a libcuck, you’re supposed to post something inane, stupid, and completely ineffectual. Congrats, you nailed it.! Now go service your overweight wife.
A big reason people are going crazy on airplanes is nicotine fits. Look at the numbers, since smoking was banned on planes, (yes you young people you used to be able to smoke on planes) the numbers of onboard incidents has went up proportionally. Tampa has an outdoor smoking area accessible from the terminal. More airports should have these. FYI, I don’t smoke anymore, I vape and I discreetly do this everywhere, even in the terminal while I’m walking.
I rather like this. Create Kardashian clubs at airports. Also, Justin Bieber rooms. Anything that gets stupid people away from me is good.
@ Dave W — May I suggest moving s far away from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave as possible before Jan 20, 2025?
I remember flying to Amsterdam for the first time from DTW on Northwest in 2002. I was shocked at the smoking inside AMS. Back then, they didn’t even have separate enclosed spaces. You could smoke right on the concourse. The smell was awful. That changed a few years ago but AMS and other European airports still have smoking areas. The degree to which they’re fully enclosed varies. I find you can still smell the smoke.
This doesn’t bother me, although I do question whether a marijuana lounge would be more popular. At what point is marijuana going to be acceptable in hotels or airports? Will we see a hotel provide a marijuana amenity like they provide a bottle of wine or will we see businesses allow expense reports with marijuana like businesses covering alcohol at dinner?
These people that complain about smoking. This would be a better alternative than having people sneak one or light up in the bathrooms and family restrooms…just saying. You are not going to tell people what to do or make them do anything. As for the CDC and other fraudulent health systems, they have forced deadly vaxes on people, all the chemicals in our foods and water that are band in Europe and other countries yet we have the highest rate of health issues in the world. But you are worried about cigarette and cigars. The medicinal weed that people smoke that’s laced with fentanyl as a preservative. But that’s ok…the radiation you absorb from flying…get a grip y’all. People are going to smoke whether you like it or not, they would do better to put something like this in place.
MIke, I get it. Vaxes Bad, Cigars good. Got it
Given the quality of PA systems installed in most American airports, I would be concerned about the low budget air system they would install in the lounge.
I’m the worst kind of nonsmoker; an ex-smoker.
The argument that this is a public health issue rings hallow when I am always within 25 feet on an establishment that serves booze (from 5AM-last departure bank) when I’m airside.
I really don’t see the problem here, assuming adherence to air quality standards.
I don’t smoke and don’t recommend it to anyone, but I support an individual’s right to do so if they so choose.
While smoking does not “cause” cancer and other health maladies, there is an increased incidence among smokers. That they should pay higher health insurance premiums reflecting this increased risk is reasonable.
At the same time, one cannot walk in an airport and not see opportunities to purchase alcoholic beverages. Consumption of alcohol also is linked to an increased incidence of some cancers and other diseases, especially when consumed in excess. Acute overconsumption may lead to behavioral problems in the airport and inflight. Yet consumption is not banned, but encouraged, without histrionics.
If cigar smoke bothers you don’t go into the lounge. The world has become a bunch of Karens.
Could definitely smell the smoking lounges at Frankfurt airport when going by. It’s worse in places like Bengaluru or Hyderabad where the smoking lounge is next to the PP lounge. It really stinks so the lounges try to cover it up with really highly scented products, the combo of which is atrocious.
8 million people die every year from tobacco. That’s more than terrorism, wars, and illegal drugs combined. Airports should have designated areas for war, terrorism, and illegal drugs, because people who do those things can’t wait until they get home to do them.
Passengers flying with Delta Air Lines at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) often visit the Delta Sky Club, which offers an overlooking view of the Spanx lingerie and shapewear store in the Edward McNamara Terminal. Delta Air Lines could enhance its SkyClub experience as a premium airline by adding a cigar bar. This addition could lead to exciting co-marketing events, such as “Spanx with Scotch, soda and Saint Luis Rey cigars” or “Spanx with sake bombs and San Cristóbal de la Habana cigars.” When Delta offers a San Cristóbal de la Habana cigar for just 2,000 SkyMiles, passengers will undoubtedly appreciate the added value and benefits of flying with this premium airline.
@Gene when hasn’t the Maison Blanche housed a deplorable? Carter and Ford were fine gentlemen, but incompetent. OK, GHW Bush and Clinton weren’t too bad, the latter being the last to balance the budget. But, this century has not had a President worthy of that title.
I don’t care if someone smokes. What I very much care about is the smell on smokers clothes and I especially do not want to sit next to or near a smoker in the confined space of an airplane. As an ex-smoker, I understand that smokers don’t know that they smell bad yet they smell horrible to just about all the non-smokers in their midst.
If you’re young you don’t pay the price for smoking. It’s cumulative and you pay in the last half of life … and pay dearly. Why divert revenue to build smoking lounges? There’s 80 years of smoking statistics, what’s it going to take?
I despise the smell of tobacco and am cursed with an extreme sensitivity to the stench. I can’t enjoy an outdoor patio because of smokers. Still, I am willing to let people choose their poisons. Just don’t smoke in non-smoking spaces, don’t operate a vehicle while intoxicated, and, if your not a happy drunk, drink at home alone.
@ DaveW — Sorry, but Obama is a brilliant man, Trump is a moron, and Biden may or may not still be home.
I remember when United put a 4-pack of Winstons on every tray when dinner was served in first class. Ah, the good old days.
LAX Tom. Don’t worry about it, hon. The smoke will be contained. You won’t even notice it, similar to the alcohol people consume in airport bars. It won’t somehow migrate into your lungs/liver by virtue of you seeing it, so I wouldn’t freak out too much. It would be better if you let people make their own choices and you concentrate on your own little world, as opposed to injecting yourself into other people’s personal choices.
Most fun post ever! Comments exceptionally entertaining. With over half of Americans obese, and all the pollution and toxins EVERYone is injesting EVERYday in the whole world, it’s laughable that people are so threatened from second hand smoke and tobacco smell that their little world is shaken. Get a life or simply secure yourself from the entire morass by staying away from people. Let people do what they want and shut the F up.
I don’t support smoking areas. I and many others don’t want to smell smoke-infused clothes on flights, and I don’t want to have to wash my clothes 50 times just because I was near a smoker on a flight, even if they weren’t actively smoking. I shouldn’t be nauseous for the day just because you wanted to light a cigarette or a blunt at the airport. The anti-smoking culture of today is a big thing I appreciate in the US over other parts of the world.
At the same time, we absolutely need to take care of people with nicotine cravings. Nicotine gum, patches, and other substitutes need to be readily available so that smokers can be as comfortable as possible without ruining everyone else’s experience.
When ATL used to have smoking lounges, the smell walking past them was very strong. Being allergic to cigarette smoke, I had to give them a wide berth to avoid getting a headache almost immediately. That said, I’ve never smelled the ones in Nashville at all.
The bigger problem, though, is people smoking and then immediately going and getting on a plane with other people. When you smoke, you smell like an ash tray with pretty much no exceptions. You may not notice it yourself because you’re used to it and you’ve also ruined your sense of smell, but everyone around you – including the people seated beside you in a metal tube for hours – definitely will. You shouldn’t smoke right before getting on a plane for the same reasons that you shouldn’t board one wreaking of BO or after bathing in perfume or cologne. Airline Contracts of Carriage even explicitly list smell as a reason to deny boarding, though unfortunately, this isn’t enforced as often as it probably should be.
Nah, do not allow this junk.
This article was written by a cigar
I don’t think it’s ok that some travelers prefer a cigar. One of the best things about America is how marginalized smoking is and it’d be great to continue that. Make the smokers go outside or some terrible space if you really need to offer a place.
(Six Flags does a good job of this – all their smoking areas are by trash cans in the worst part of their park – it looks miserable)
@Christophe Honore Wow, you have serious reading-comprehension issues. I don’t have a problem with smoking and drinking, I explicitly admitted to being someone who occasionally imbibes myself. I’m only questioning the ethics of the airport, which is a public utility, facilitating harmful vices in order to make a profit.
After the C-19 fiasco plandemic, the CDC and other health authorities have lost all credibility. Corrupted government agencies and organizations are a terrible place for honest health guidelines.
I enjoy cigars daily as an outdoor activity. If the cigar lounge is designed properly, non-smokers need not be affected other than smelling tobacco on passenger clothing as they currently do now.
As a Priority Pass holder, there’s only one lounge at Detroit airport available to us, the Lufthansa Business Lounge. Personally I would prefer more business lounges over cigar lounges. There is a shortage of quality business lounges in major airports.