Today, the New York City city council voted 46 to 1 to ban/prohibit flavored tobacco products. The ban does not include Menthol or Mint, like the FDA 'Protect Your Family from Smokers' bill, and it does not ban flavored pipe tobaccos - yet.
All of this is happening in the same city where the nanny-minded mayor changed the law so he could stay for a third term in office, banned indoor smoking, and is now trying to ban outdoor smoking in parks and beaches - because 'children should not have to see smokers'.
Where are all of the infuriated people? Where are Americans who value freedom? Individual Rights? And not just the rights you use, but all individuals' rights?
Within thirty minutes of this news breaking, I have witnessed emails, facebook, and twitter messages from industry members and not one of those messages had anything to do with the usurpation of our freedoms. Topics did include: tonight's featured bottle of wine to drink at home; something about farmville; a note about splurging on a ribeye steak because it's 'hump day'; a bejeweled score; what you are watching on TV or the internet; what you are smoking; what you are wearing for Halloween; what game you are watching tonight; who you are rooting for; and something about a golf tournament.
Sadly, many NYC tobacconists did not find out about the vote until the day before; so some of us are being rail-roaded and disenfranchised by the system. But, the real problem is our own apathy and lethargy. Where is the anger? The vote was 46 to 1!
These prohibitions started with the FDA justifying a ban of cigarettes that have a 'characterizing' flavor that 'can be attractive to children'. Yet this is the most bankrupt and illogical justification because IT IS ILLEGAL TO SELL TOBACCO TO CHILDREN. So that should be the focus - stop sales of tobacco to underage children! It's not rocket science; you don't have to be a genius to figure it out. The prohibition of products that are 'attractive to children' is the most insipid legislative trend I have ever seen in my lifetime; it is as bad as McCarthyism, Racism, anti-Semitism, and any other 'ism' which is based on an ideology of hatred and bigotry.
One hundred years ago men congregated in bars, pubs, and clubs to discuss matters of the day... at the time, most of them smoked. Yet today, we are not allowed to congregate, smoke, and talk in the same place - except for the rare retail tobacconist. And now the walls are crumbling around us.... The guiding principle behind the founding of America was 'the individual pursuit of happiness'.... so it was. What is the guiding principle behind America today?
Unfortunately, the path to freedom is wrought with challenges and sacrifice. For starters, sign The Tobacconist Preservation Act, join the CRA, get Certified, and finally, get your head out of your arse and take half of the time you spend watching TV, sports, or shopping for crap, and start fighting for your freedoms. Otherwise, all that is worth living for, the simple human pleasures, will be lost.
This week Cigar Rights of America (CRA) reported that the Cancer Action Network (lobbyists for American Cancer Society*) are about to spend $3 million dollars over the next few months to lobby the administration and Congress to increase taxes on cigars and other tobacco products. Absurdly, this is happening just weeks after the S-CHIP tobacco tax increases that will fund health care for people making under $80,000 per year. The Campaign for Tobacco Free kids noted, "There is plenty of room to go [for taxes] for cigars and smokeless."
You must see by now that tobacco taxation is not really about using the money to recoup societal costs incurred by smokers. Sadly, it is estimated that only 5% of tobacco tax money is used for health care, cigarette cessation and education programs! Clearly, this level of extreme taxation is a punitive measure used to penalize a minority of people who do not conform to 'dictated' norms. In fact, the de-normalization of smokers is nearly complete as in California it is almost illegal to smoke outdoors on public sidewalks. And the hysteria and lies regarding second hand smoke has people believing smokers are dangerous and dirty people. Yet, any open-minded person who has ever read beyond the first page of the Surgeon's General report on ETS must find smoking bans perplexing and unjustified.
Sadly, tobacco taxes and smoking bans will continue to increase because they are politically expedient. Over the last two decades our economic, political, scientific, and ideological arguments have failed to preserve individual, business owner, and tobacco user rights. Just take a look at how many republicans vote for smoking bans, declining rates of return on increased taxation, and the fact that smoking rates are relatively flat.
The increased persecution and taxation of tobacco users defies logic. It is about ideology. This is a cultural war against a certain 'kind' of people. And apparently, I am one of those people. Yet, cigar smokers only represent about 5% of the population - we are a bonafide underdog. That means each of us will need to convince at least 11 people to respect and support our freedoms, just to survive. In addition, as cigar and pipe smokers, we must proactively support the CRA as they are our infantry which battles the local, state, and federal government on a daily basis.
However, winning political battles will not be enough either. The anti-smoking movement is funded and organized beyond reason and comparison to any other political farce (sp?). They have waged a cultural war and we must meet them with commensurate force. The only force capable of resisting this movement is the value of freedom, inherent to being American. And the only way to change the culture is through education. So, Tobacconist University continues to build and project the credibility of our industry - endeavoring to preserve luxury tobacco for generations to come. There is a lot of work to be done and we must start yesteryear. Please join the CRA, convince 11 people to respect you, and get educated - sign the TPA, share & communicate, and learn something.
* Yes, it's true, American cancer has a society and lobbyists. And if they have their way, all of the delicious carcinogens and smoke surrounding this steak will eventually be taxed, controlled, and eliminated as well.
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