Press Release - August 21, 2026

Detroit, MI —​ After years of intense pushback from a broad coalition of health organizations, workers’ rights advocates, and local residents, the Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) decided last month to rescind its proposal to open an indoor cigar lounge at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). In an op-ed for The Detroit News, coalition members Minou Jones, founder and CEO of the Making It Count Community Development Corporation, and Dr. A'Lynne Boles Dukes, co-chair of the Keep MI Kids Tobacco Free Alliance, write that their successful attempt to stop the proposal marks a major victory for airport workers and the millions of travelers who pass through the facility each year.

KEY POINT: “This is a victory for public health, for Detroiters, and for everyone who passes through or works at Michigan’s largest airport…The decision also reinforces Michigan's longstanding commitment to smokefree environments. For more than a decade, Michigan has recognized that workers and the public deserve protection from secondhand smoke. Airports should reflect those same values. This outcome is about more than one airport. It demonstrates that communities can influence important decisions when they stay engaged, organize thoughtfully and continue advocating respectfully, even when success feels uncertain.”

The Detroit News: Metro Airport's smoke free future is vital to all of us | Opinion

By Minou Jones and Dr. A'Lynne Boles Dukes

August 18, 2026

In spring of 2025, we warned that Detroit Metropolitan Airport stood at a crossroads. The proposal to build a cigar lounge inside one of the nation's busiest airports threatened to undermine decades of progress in protecting people from the dangers of secondhand smoke. We urged the Wayne County Airport Authority to reject the proposal and keep Detroit Metro smokefree because the health of more than 31 million travelers and 18,000 airport employees was simply too important to compromise.

Today, we're celebrating. Last month, after more than 18 months of pleading our case, the Wayne County Airport Authority made the right decision to keep Detroit Metro Airport smokefree. This is a victory for public health, for Detroiters, and for everyone who passes through or works at Michigan’s largest airport. It is also a reminder that meaningful change is possible when people refuse to give up.

There were moments when it would have been easy to believe this effort was over before it truly began. The proposal had momentum. Many assumed the outcome was inevitable. But advocates, community leaders, healthcare organizations and everyday residents stayed engaged because they understood what was at stake. They continued asking questions, raising concerns and making the case that clean indoor air should never be negotiable.

That persistence made all the difference. This victory belongs to everyone who spoke up, but it also would not have been possible without leaders who were willing to listen.

We extend our sincere appreciation to Wayne County Executive Warren Evans for meeting with our coalition and approaching this issue with an open mind. Rather than allowing the conversation to become divisive, he sought common ground and helped us, as he put it, "carve the hog together." That spirit of collaboration transformed what could have been a prolonged conflict into a productive discussion focused on protecting the public while finding a responsible path forward.

We also thank the members of the Wayne County Airport Authority for ultimately making a decision that places Detroit Metro on the right side of history. Their decision sends a clear message that the health and well-being of millions of travelers and thousands of airport employees matter more than creating a space that would have served only a small fraction of visitors.

Leadership is often measured by the choices made when competing interests collide. In this case, public health prevailed. The decision also reinforces Michigan's longstanding commitment to smokefree environments. For more than a decade, Michigan has recognized that workers and the public deserve protection from secondhand smoke. Airports should reflect those same values.

This outcome is about more than one airport. It demonstrates that communities can influence important decisions when they stay engaged, organize thoughtfully and continue advocating respectfully, even when success feels uncertain.

Our diverse coalition that came together around this issue shared one simple belief: no one should have to breathe secondhand smoke in a public airport. While individuals and organizations may have brought different perspectives and expertise, we were united by a common purpose. That unity proved to be one of our greatest strengths.

Detroit Metro Airport serves as Michigan's front door to the world. The experience visitors have there shapes impressions of our state. By remaining smokefree, DTW will continue to welcome families and prioritize the well-being of the people who live, work and travel here.

This victory is certainly worth celebrating. But perhaps its greatest lesson is that progress happens when communities refuse to walk away from difficult conversations. Never giving up got us here.

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Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) is a member-supported, non-profit advocacy group that has been working for 50 years, since 1976, to protect everyone’s right to breathe nontoxic air in workplaces and public places, from offices and airplanes to restaurants, bars, and casinos. ANR has continuously shined a light on the tobacco industry’s interference with sound and life-saving public health measures and successfully protected 61% of the population with local or statewide smokefree workplace, restaurant, and bar laws. ANR aims to close gaps in smokefree protections for workers in all workplaces, including bars, music venues, casinos, and hotels. For more information, please visit https://nonsmokersrights.org and https://smokefreecasinos.org.