One of the few exception to the general prohibition against smoking in the workplace is a retail or wholesale tobacco shop and private smokers' lounge, used by cigar clubs and tobacconists to avoid the strictures of the law. According to the statute, a retail or wholesale tobacco shop is any business establishment whose main purpose of which is the sale of tobacco products, including but not limited to, cigars, pipe tobacco, and smoking accessories. 

A private smokers' lounge is any enclosed area in or attached to a retail or wholesale tobacco shop that is dedicated to the use of tobacco products, including, but not limited to, cigars and pipes." The law does not detail what causes a business to have as its "main purpose" the sale of tobacco products, nor does it define what it means to be "dedicated" to the use of tobacco products. 

The owners of a pub in Santa Cruz sought to exploit the vagueness of these rules by dubbing their establishment "a club and smoking parlor" and by making cigars available on the premises. On October 14, 1999, Santa Cruz County Superior Court Commissioner John M. Mulligan agreed with the pub owners, saying that since the defendant has followed the strict letter of the code, this court cannot find fault in his conduct ... The Legislature needs to address the issue if they feel it is important." 

This case does not set a statewide precedent, and it is unlikely that prosecutors will be dissuaded from prosecuting bar owners who sell tobacco products as an incidental segment of their business. Concurrently, this decision may prove compelling enough for some bar and pub owners to promote the sale of tobacco to allow smoking. 

If you should like more information on California laws relating to smoking in bars, restaurants and the workplace, contact Jim Butler at (310) 201-3526 or Bob Braun at (310) 785-5331.