The Tobacco Smokescreen: Distracting Bigotry

In NYC we are now fighting the prohibition of all flavored tobaccos; plus the threat of banning smoking outdoors in parks and beaches so 'children won't have to see smokers'. Meanwhile, taxation, smoking bans, and de-normalization of smokers continues to increase. Yet, we learned this year that the use of anti-depressants has doubled over the last decade and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, you can walk into any convenience store, supermarket, or 'nutritional center' and buy yourself amphetamine-like drinks and diet pills, erectile aids, and five hour energy shots. Plus, I just read that the new 'hot' product on the market is caffeine laced meat!

Politicians and legislators are beating up on the tobacco industry and the people and businesses suffering the most are retail tobacconists and luxury tobacco aficionados. Yet, 'feel-good' prohibitions, taxation, and restrictions continue to be passed by local, state, and federal agencies. Meanwhile, the substantive problems of the world seem to go unaddressed. At this point, even cigarette smokers are more than paying for any societal costs associated with their pleasures, yet the government is milking them to pay for childrens' health-care - this is happening because the societal perception that cigarette smokers (or all smokers) are "filthy" or "dirty" people with a "disgusting" habit. Well, as long as our government chooses to stigmatize and punish unpopular people, I can guarantee that nothing positive or substantive will ever get done. Consumers of alcohol and fat people beware! This will not stop until we stand up and help minorities protect their choices/pleasures/freedoms, even if they are not the freedoms that we choose to exercise.

"You can only be free if I am free."
- Clarence Darrow

The Worst Freedom is OK

As a retail tobacconist I have paid half a dozen floor taxes and tax increases this year alone. The campaign against all smokers is in full effect around the globe while smoking bans (both indoor and outdoor), de-normalization, perpetual and unreasonable tax increases, continue to usurp our freedoms. But the hallmark of 2009 is the prohibitions that have been put into place by the FDA (banning flavored cigarettes) and now NYC banning ALL flavored tobacco; again, under the intellectually bankrupt logic that these products are 'attractive to children' - even though it is illegal to sell these products to children.

Today Dr. Michael Siegel, a famous anti-smoking advocate, wrote in his blog "the anti-smoking movement is very much a religious-like one and that it is based largely on ideology rather than science." Now we should be able to see things clearly; smokerism and the relentless taxation is not based on science, but rather bigotry. And smokers, along with other freedom loving people, have been saying for years that the health police/nanny state will come after soda pop, obese people, and alcohol soon enough. Well, soon enough is already here!!! Taxes and bans on fatty foods are becoming prevalent while European cities have started to ban happy hours!

Behaviour and pleasure control has never been about health, because happiness cannot be measured in years or numbers. As a society we must accept that cigarette smoking is the absolute worst personal freedom and then move on. It's OK; there will always be a WORST Freedom. But, the key to living in free and democratic societies is to preserve freedoms, not constantly whittle away at them. Today, smokers pay more than their fair share of the 'societal' (health care) costs associated with smoking; they are not a burden to non-smokers. So it must be time to leave them alone. Otherwise, our government is just punishing people who they do not like and that is reprehensible. At this point, it will be up to non-smokers to stand up and say "Enough Is Enough". Even the worst freedom is OK, now lets get on with our lives!

"You can only be free if I am free."
- Clarence Darrow

In Loving Memory of Rudy Garmendia

It has been just over a year since our industry lost one of its greatest leaders, Daniel Miranda of Miami Cigar & Co. Danny was too young and good to leave us so soon. Sadly, today I was informed of another great loss which has come as a big surprise. One of my oldest friends, Rodolfo (Rudy) Garmendia, was killed by a drunk driver on August 11, 2009 on 836 in Miami. This tragedy is unfathomable, and statistically improbable, but true. Rudy left behind three beautiful children, a wife, and extended family. He was just 36 years old.

Just a few weeks ago I was sitting on the rooftop of the Clevelander hotel in SoBe with friends and family telling "Rudy" stories; twenty years after the fact, he had us laughing! To my mothers surprise she learned a lot more about our high school exploits than she ever wanted to know.

Rudy had an extraordinary ability to make people smile and laugh. He had a special swagger and a natural exuberance for life. He was also a classic Cuban exaggerator and ball-buster and we loved him for it! And he was a cigar lover. He was beautiful.

I'm writing about Rudy because he embodies all of the great things that I happen to love about my friends, tobacconists and cigar smokers: they have a unique gift for savoring and creating special moments. In many ways cigars add punctuation and anchor the special moments in our lives; they are part of the process of relaxing, decompressing, and savoring our time. And, while we all live and die, very few of us have the ability to create and spread as much joy and fun as Rudy Garmendia. I suppose the lesson I will take from this tragedy is to show more exhuberance for life and smile more! That is the greatest gift I ever got from Rudy. Thank you Rudy; I will miss you and learn from you as long as I live.

My heartfelt condolences, prayers, and love will continue to go out to his family and friends.

Tobacco Prohibition 2.0: Banning Flavor

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.

Cigar Myths: Body

Body = Strength

Myth: The body and strength of a cigar are the same and/or related.

Truth: Body, in terms of flavor (taste+aroma) profile, does not necessarily correlate with the Strength of a cigar. Strength refers to nicotine potency or the intensity of spice – two separate factors. Body is a flavor descriptor which can refer to the depth, breadth, and richness of a tobacco (flavor).

So, a strong cigar can be medium bodied, while a full-bodied cigar can be mild or medium strength. As an example, imagine that chicken has a mild body, while beef has a richer body, yet both can be spicy/strong, depending on how they are seasoned.

Visit Cigar Myths for comprehensive content.

Blunt Debate

One of the most recent and grotesque legislative threats to cigar smokers, our freedoms, and common sense is the Washington DC City Council's efforts to ban the sale of single cigars; because they are considered 'drug paraphanalia'. This is a legislative trend we have seen in other places and despite its stupidity, I'm sure we will see it again. So, we must address the problem with facts before it gets more ridiculous.

First, we must explain what a 'blunt' is, since most cigar smokers probably have no idea. The Urban Dictionary defines a blunt as a "cigar hollowed out and filled with marijuana." The term derives from the short-filler Phillie Blunt brand which was originally used to create blunts. The term blunt originated in the 1980s and continued to be a popular inner-city technique for smoking marijuana throughout the 1990s. Our research indicates it has faded in popularity over the last ten years.

It is important to note that blunts are made from short-filler, cheap cigars, which are available at convenience stores. Blunts are not made from premium cigars nor do they use natural tobacco leaves; they use homogenized tobacco leaf. A long-filler premium cigar cannot be emptied in the same way a short-filler cigar can and it would be prohibitively expensive to purchase a premium cigar to smoke marijuana. So, even if you think the government should prohibit products which can potentially have illicit uses, you must understand that premium cigars do not fit into that category. Furthermore, if you follow the logic of prohibiting products that can be used to smoke marijuana, then you will have to ban all paper, all plastic bottles, apples, and a myriad of other benign objects.

Ultimately, the idea of banning a product that has potentially illicit uses is absurd; by that logic you could ban almost everything in the world*. Even worse, it shows how intellectually bankrupt our legislators are and does nothing to protect citizens or our freedoms.

*This legislative mentality is brought to you by the same nanny state that believes it makes sense to ban products that are "attractive to children."..... Remember that our current legislators can take away ever pleasure and freedom you enjoy in the name of your "health and welfare".

WITWITTH? - Where In The World Is The Tobacconist Handbook?

It took over a decade to create and our pre-marketing campaign left many people wondering, where in the world is The Tobacconist Handbook? Well, The Tobacconist Handbook (TH) is here and available at Amazon.com. More importantly, we want to know who has the TH and would like to share your pictures with the Tobacconist University community: we are calling this the WITWITTH? Project. You can view the photos on our Facebook Fan page or Follow TU on Twitter to see the latest and greatest contributions to the WITWITTH? Project. Thank you to everyone who is contributing, and especially Jessica Padrón, who took the extraordinary photograph above.