A Change in Course

David Duval was there. And so was Justin Leonard and the expected half-million spectators.

But something was definitely missing from the Phoenix Open golf tournament--much to the delight of public health advocates and, probably, some fans.

In exchange for a $39,000 payment, the tournament sponsors banned cigar vendors from the four-day event--a remarkable action considering how cozy cigar smoking and professional golf have become in recent years, observers noted.

The ban, which was negotiated by the Arizona Department of Health Services, was perhaps the first large-scale public protest of the adverse health effects of cigar smoking.

“I’m delighted to hear about this,” said John Banzhaf, of the Action on Smoking and Health, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington. “It’s a major step in the right direction. I hope next year they might take the next step and prohibit cigar smoking on the [course] during the tournament.”

The ban of cigars at the prestigious golf tournament, which was expected to end Sunday, didn’t go that far. Golfers and spectators were still free to bring cigars to the course and light up. But cigar vendors, which have become ubiquitous at many PGA events in the last few years, were replaced by kiosks featuring tobacco-free lifestyles and educational materials.

Arizona health officials, who operate one of the largest anti-tobacco campaigns in the nation, negotiated to close off cigar manufacturers’ access to the tournament with the $39,000 payment to the Phoenix Thunderbirds, the tournament’s private sponsor. The money was raised through a 1994 state cigarette tax to pay for anti-smoking education.

“Hopefully, by not having cigars on site, it reduces the impulse purchases,” said Rosalie Lopez Hirano, chief of Arizona’s Tobacco Education and Prevention Program. “Our second goal was to get people to think about cigar smoking. There is a misconception that cigars are not as harmful as cigarettes.”

Cigar smoking and secondhand cigar smoke pose numerous health risks, according to an April 1998 monograph on cigars from the National Institutes of Health. Smoking even one or two cigars a day raises the risk of oral, larynx and esophageal cancers. It also elevates the risk of lung cancer and heart disease. Because many cigar smokers don’t inhale, however, the risks of lung and heart diseases are lower for cigar smokers than for cigarette smokers.

Secondhand cigar smoke is also problematic. Cigars contain a greater mass of tobacco than cigarettes and release more smoke, toxins and irritants into the environment.

The National Institutes of Health report was prompted by a dramatic increase in cigar smoking in the United States (a 50% rise in use since 1993). The greatest increase is among men ages 18 to 24. People with higher socioeconomic and education levels are also more likely to smoke cigars.

And that makes golf tournaments a prime spot to advertise stogies, said Brad Christensen, of the Arizona Department of Health Services.

“Many golf fans are upscale, young adults who are the target of cigar manufacturers,” Christensen said. “Golf and cigars have become synonymous. We’re trying to drive a wedge between them.”

Phoenix Open sponsors acknowledge that fans have not been complaining about cigar smoke.

“We know from our sales records that we sold maybe 7,500 to 10,000 cigars last year with a half-million people there. [The ban] impacts a very small number of cigar users. And it addresses some of the objections of other fans,” said Ray Artigue, general chairman of the Phoenix Open.

“We felt like it would make the tournament a little more family friendly,” Artigue said. “This is not a prohibition against smoking. Anyone is entitled to bring their own.”

There is precedent for prohibiting smoking at outdoor venues, noted Banzhaf, of Action on Smoking and Health.

“The nonsmokers’ rights movement has been, traditionally, focused on the inside of buildings,” Banzhaf said. “But recently we’ve turned our attention to the outside. There are parks, beaches and stadiums that have banned smoking. Smoking is also banned in places where people are waiting in line outdoors. If you are in close proximity to someone, it can be just as annoying and just as much of a health hazard.”

Banzhaf said there is growing support for curtailing the promotion and advertising of cigars, which, unlike cigarettes and chewing tobacco, are excluded from federal regulations that restrict youth access and limit advertising. His organization and other health groups have petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to add health warning labels to cigar products and to restrict advertising aimed at underage smokers.

“[The Phoenix Open ban] might jump-start the FTC,” he says. “Cigar smoking is at least as prevalent among youth as chewing tobacco, which requires warnings. But kids and parents look at cigars and see no health warnings.”

Whether the ban will prompt either the FTC or PGA to take a closer look at cigars is still a question. Officials at the PGA, the ruling body for all PGA-sanctioned events, said there has been little discussion about cigar smoking at tournaments.

This is not the first time the golf-and-cigars tradition has been called into question, however. A year ago, golfer Larry Gilbert died of lung cancer at age 55. Gilbert was often seen with a cigar while playing on the Senior Tour in the last years of his life. He even did an advertisement for a cigar manufacturer.

“Like a fool, I thought they wouldn’t be as bad for me as cigarettes,” Gilbert said a few months before he died.