LAKEWOOD — A nearly 6-foot wooden American Indian statue surveys the room as smoke wafts through the air, lending neon signs a deeper hue while Lucas Miller tends bar.

Miller isn’t a smoker. He has never liked smoking, but he loves his job at a Lakewood establishment, which still allows people to enjoy a cigar or cigarette.

Yet Miller fears unemployment is all but certain should laws change to the extent of no longer permitting cigar and hookah bars to operate in the city.

“I enjoy being employed more than I care to take away the right of others to smoke,” Miller said.

Bartending at Ms. T’s Cigar Bar at 8529 W. Colfax Ave. means Miller is exposed to a lot of secondhand smoke, which he said is just a part of the job.

“If someone were to give me a hard time, I would challenge them to a mile of swimming and see what happens,” Miller said. He takes care of himself, he adds, cigar smoke or not.

The Lakewood City Council will consider strengthening the current smoking law, which is in line with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, which allows certain businesses the smoking option.

City staff, along with an ad hoc committee, will give a presentation to the council during a study session today. Staff and patrons of Ms. T’s will be in attendance.

Terri Bridge, owner of Ms. T’s, said she will protect her business and hopes the council will be sympathetic to her side of the argument.

“It’s a slap in the face to think the council would consider more or less shutting down a small business,” Bridge said.

Lakewood resident Rich Carlson has been a regular at the bar for six years and said he thinks there is no sound reason why the business should be in jeopardy.

“You know what is. It is no secret. It is not like the time when there were separate sections in restaurants, where the smoke might blow your way,” he said.

Carlson also intends to express his opinions to the council in order to preserve his favorite spot for a drink, a smoke and conversation with friends.

The other location in Lakewood where smokers can find refuge is Exhale Hookah at 7575 W. Florida Ave.

Christopher Carlson, manager of Exhale and who is of no relation to Rich Carlson, said the business worked closely with the city when it opened in April 2009 to make sure it met all requirements.

“The city was very encouraging, and it took us about a year to have all the alarms and correct ventilation systems installed,” he said.

Exhale offers only hookah products, no food or alcohol, so the argument of secondhand smoke makes no sense to Christopher Carlson.

“It’s not like people are coming here for our great French fries. They are coming here for one reason: to firsthand smoke,” he said.

Ryan Parker: 720-295-3804or rparker@denverpost.com

