MINNEAPOLIS, May 5, 2008—A Pioneer Press article says that the Minnesota Department of Health has filed a second injunction against a bar seeking to get around the Freedom to Breathe law by staging phony theatrical events.

The MDH filed an injunction against Bugg's Place, a South St. Paul bar. The first injunction, filed two weeks ago, was against Bullseye Saloon in Elko.

In a March 7 letter, the MDH informed bars that it's illegal to allow patrons and employees to smoke at so-called "theater nights." Since then, many bars have stopped allowing patrons to light up, officials said.

Health Department spokesman John Stieger told the Pioneer Press: We think that there are only a handful of bars continuing to have theater nights and circumventing the Freedom to Breathe Act."

According to the newspaper report, two MDH inspectors and a police officer from South St. Paul police inspected Bugg's Place March 28. They found a legal notice that said there would be a theatrical performance at the bar that evening and that actors would be smoking.