Jump to full article: Arizona Capitol Times, 2008-09-30
Author: Christian Palmer
Intro: The Arizona Court of Appeals on Sept. 30 delivered a blow against the regulatory powers of the Arizona Department of Health Services by declaring that a luxury Phoenix tobacco shop and bar is exempt from the statewide smoking ban in public places.
The ruling overturns a Maricopa County Superior Court judge's decision in March that validated the department's argument that constructing a bar within Magnum's Cigar, Wine and Liquor Emporium nullified its exclusion from 2006 voter-approved Smoke-Free Act.
The act included several exceptions to the smoking ban, including retail tobacco shops that generate a majority of their sales from tobacco and related accessories. Under the law, retail tobacco shops also must have physical separations to prevent smoke from drifting into areas where smoking is prohibited.
The appeals court found no basis for the department's interpretation of the 2006 act that would forbid smoking in a tobacco shop that sells alcohol or also operates as a bar. . . .
"Although the act specifies that the majority of a retail tobacco store's sales must be from tobacco products and accessories, it places no restrictions on the source of the other 49.9 percent sales," wrote Judge John Gemmill.
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