See Also:

• Thursday, May 23, 2013
  First Look—New Blend Hitting the Seas from East India Trading Company
• Thursday, May 23, 2013
  Made For You, April 2013
• Tuesday, May 21, 2013
  EXCLUSIVE—Nat Sherman To Debut 1930 Collection
• Monday, May 20, 2013
  El Centurion Hitting Store Shelves
• Thursday, May 16, 2013
  La Gloria Launching First Nicaraguan Lines
• More from News & Features

Bar, Restaurant Owners Demand Injunction on Smoking Ban

Andrew Nagy
Posted: August 4, 2008

A group of frustrated Iowa bar and restaurant owners asked a judge on Friday for an injunction on the state smoking ban until a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban receives a ruling.

The group argued at the Polk County Courthouse that the smoking ban, which went into effect July 1, not only is hurting business, but also violates their rights and unfairly forces owners to act as police officers for the state.

"In essence, you have a very bizarre statute that brings us here and does much, much more than ban smoking," said George Eichhorn, the group's attorney, in the courthouse, as reported by the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Attorneys for the state contended that objective data of 23 other state smoking bans shows no drop in overall business for bars and restaurants.

The judge is expected to rule as early as next week.