Travelers split on proposed cigar lounge at Detroit Metro Airport
The Detroit Wayne Oakland Tobacco Free Coalition is hoping plans for a proposed cigar lounge at Detroit Metro Airport do not move forward.
The coalition has gone as far as to fund billboards near the airport calling for the airport authority to say no to indoor smoking. Members surveyed 600 people from around the state, asking if they'd support a cigar lounge that allows smoking inside DTW. About 77% of those who responded said no.
"Our entire goal is to educate the public," said American Heart Association Community advocacy director A'Lynne Boles Dukes.
Boles Dukes, also a coalition member, says an airport is not the place to approve indoor smoking.
"How do you make exposing others to second-hand smoke safe?" she said.
She says it's not just about the smoke coming from the lounge, but also concerns about when someone boards their flight after visiting it.
"This is on a flight with children, with people with asthma, and who don't have a choice about who they sit next to. And they're going to carry those carcinogens on their bodies, and I've got to inhale that? That's the part that makes this so egregious," she said.
The Wayne County Airport Authority released a statement, saying, "We developed the Cigar Lounge and Restaurant Concessions Opportunity in response to interest from the community and local businesses, especially as it relates to the international nature of the airport ... Bidders will be required to provide a state-of-the-art air handling and ventilation system and facility design to reduce smoke exposure to the fullest extent possible."
The authority didn't specify if some smoke exposure could be permitted. Officials said they value any public feedback as they start getting word out to businesses about the opportunity.
The Wayne County Airport Authority board will have a meeting at 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 16, at the Evans Terminal. It's open to the public in person or virtually.
Jack Springgate joins the CBS News Detroit team after working for nearly seven years as a news reporter and anchor in South Bend, Ind., and Minot, North Dakota.
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