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• Neb. anti-smoking group wary of where smoke blows 

Now that an anti-smoking group has lost the fight over whether cigar bars exist in Nebraska, it's focusing on where the smoke blows.

Mark Welsch, president of the Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution, told regulators Thursday that smoking in cigar bars shouldn't be exempt from the state's anti-smoking law if smoke infiltrates neighboring shops or businesses.

Welsch, speaking before the Liquor Control Commission during a public hearing in Lincoln, also said a rule requiring ventilation systems in cigar bars should be struck down. He said it gives the impression that the air is clean.

Only an "indoor tornado" could make cigar-bar air safe, added Cindy Jeffrey of Lincoln, executive director of Health Education Inc. "And that's probably not practical."

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