An Evening With Smoke and Water

California’s ban on smoking in most public places didn’t extinguish the recent 10th annual Gentleman’s Smoker at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Dana Point.

The tuxedoed cigar enthusiasts just wafted outside, around the main pool at the resort hotel, where they puffed their way through an eight-course meal to the strains of a string quartet. Participants included Tom Wilson, celebrating his election to a first full term as an Orange County supervisor.

Under the California Smoke-Free Workplace Act of 1994, such previous smoking havens as the Ritz’s library became off-limits to protect workers from secondhand smoke.

The event, previously held in March, was moved to June as a hedge against foul weather, clearly a wise move this year.

*

E. Scott Reckard covers tourism for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7407 and at scott.reckard@latimes.com.