Tobacco.org

No cigar: Embargo on Cuba turns 50 

The world is much changed since the early days of 1962, but one thing has remained constant: The U.S. economic embargo on communist-run Cuba, a near-total trade ban that turned 50 on Tuesday. . . .

In the White House, the first sign of the looming embargo came when President John F. Kennedy told his press secretary to go buy him as many H. Upmann Cuban cigars as he could find. The aide came back with 1,200 stogies.

Kennedy announced the embargo on Feb. 3, 1962, citing “the subversive offensive of Sino-Soviet communism with which the government of Cuba is publicly aligned.”

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Jolly Good Smoke 

Stogies on Grand (961 Grand Ave., St. Paul) and Lewis Pipes and Tobacco (527 Marquette Ave., Minneapolis) evoke completely different feelings upon entrance.

Stogies’ quaint Grand Avenue storefront leads into a labyrinthine store filled with laughter and smoke, while Lewis’ massive skyscraper hat sits over a clean one-room shop. The men who own these stores, on the other hand, look quite similar — tall, broad and worried around the eyes.

The wrinkles that crease their faces are in no small part due to the stress of working in an industry constantly teetering on the brink — “… really the only industry that could vanish, poof, at the whim of a Congress session,” as Lewis Tobaco owner Rich Lewis puts it. . . .

Many tobacco enthusiasts also malign the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gives the president full regulatory power over the tobacco industry.

“Too many kids have been grabbing cheap cigars, Swishers and Dutch Masters, scraping out the middle and filling them with marijuana. You might have heard of it — it’s called ‘blunting,’” Wolk said.

In an effort to stop the illegal activity, the newer bill would also effectively put stores like Stogies out business.

This year will mark the 40th anniversary of Lewis’ tenure at his family’s tobacco shop, and he has seen business grind to a near halt as higher taxes are passed and stricter smoking restrictions are enacted. . . .

Make sure to keep tamping the ash down as you smoke, and the bowl should puff all the way down without a problem.

Remember to keep it an occasional celebration, and enjoy!

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JFK ordered 1,200 Cuban cigars hours before authorising them as illegal  

John F Kennedy ordered an aide to buy him as many Cuban cigars as possible just hours before he authorised the U.S. trade embargo, which subsequently made them illegal, it has been revealed.

The 34th President of the United States asked his head of press and fellow cigar smoker Pierre Salinger to obtain "1,000 Petit Upmanns" on February 6, 1962, so he could have them in his hands before they were deemed contraband.

Merely seconds after he was told the next morning that 1,200 of Cuba's finest export had been bought for him, he signed the decree to ban all of the communist state's products from the U.S.

The re-surfacing of the story, initially recounted by Salinger to Cigar Aficionado magazine in 1992, comes with the passing of the 50th anniversary of the embargo on Tuesday.

According to him, JFK called him into his office and said he needed "some help" to find "a lot of cigars". He wanted "1,000 Petit Upmanns" and needed them by "tomorrow morning".

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- POLITICO.com 

Michigan Rep Dan Benishek's office said he had no knowledge of a "scotch and cigars" fundraising event at CPAC Thursday night and won't be attending.

But a spokesman for the One Nation PAC says that's not true and is asking for their contribution to his campaign back.

"They are denying even knowing about the party when the congressman was confirmed," said One Nation PAC spokesman Kelly Eustis. "He attended last year also."

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Cigar Bars Make A Comeback At Luxury Hotels 

Following worldwide bans on smoking in public places, cigar bars have become something of an endangered species. But we’ve spotted a few of the clubby, usually dimly lit dens making appearances once more—this time ensconced in luxury hotels. And in some of the new iterations, they’ve got technology on their side—advanced air filtration systems make spending time in one a breath of fresh air. Here are a few of the best cigar lounges around the globe. . . .

On the other side of the world, The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing’s swanky Davidoff Lounge welcomes guests nightly until 2 a.m. For those set to impress, the bar’s VIP rooms (which are equipped with everything from card tables to Wii stations and karaoke machines) are available for business meetings and private parties. Davidoff cigars from the Dominican Republic are the top choice here, but you can also puff away on hand-rolled Cubans.

U.S hotels have picked up on this old-school tradition, too—Florida (given its proximity to Cuba) hosts some of the grandest smoking rooms in the nation

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HOFFMAN: Legislators Blow Chance On Fair Tobacco Taxes  

If you’ve rummaged through your teen or ‘tween’s backpack recently, you might have missed the cigars and smokeless tobacco, hiding in plain sight amid the schoolbooks, pens, iPods and breath mints. It’s not that you’re clueless. Rather, the tobacco companies have cleverly packaged the cigarette-sized “cigars” and smokeless tobacco pellets to masquerade as innocuous lip gloss and breath mints.

With cigarillo names like “Happy Hour” and “Prime Time,” and flavorings like chocolate, strawberry and peach, these products are clearly intended for the middle and high school-age crowd. Low prices, teen-friendly packaging, and the myth that cigars and smokeless tobacco are healthier than cigarettes, makes these products a gateway to a lifetime of tobacco use. Although smokeless tobacco products and cigars cannot legally be sold to minors, there are no laws against underage possession of these items, unlike underage alcohol possession. You can’t blame the tobacco companies. They’re in business to sell products, and if their packaging bamboozles parents and teachers, so be it.

But to bamboozle New Mexico legislators is another story.

Since 1986, a loophole in the tax law has allowed buyers and sellers to avoid the cigarette tax by buying or selling loose tobacco, cigars and spit tobacco in place of higher-priced cigarettes. Simply put, these products are undertaxed compared with cigarettes, due to the influence of the very powerful smokeless-tobacco and cigar lobby.

It’s a loophole New Mexico legislators are unwilling to close. . . .

Only one legislator, Rep. Gail Chasey, countered that HB 133 was a public health issue rather than a taxation issue. Chasey was the only legislator out of five who voted for the bill.

Thank you, representatives Chasey and Stewart, for recognizing that our children’s lives are at stake.

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Cuban makes statues using tobacco leaves 

A Cuban sculptor uses tobacco leaves to create wonderful pieces of art, and has made life-size as well as miniature sculptures of Winston Churchill, Che Guevara, John F. Kennedy, Charles Chaplin, Luciano Pavarotti and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

With his unique work, Janio Nunez Leal has pieces in many private collections around the work, the Prensa Latina news agency reported.

Nunez, who worked as a "torcedor" or cigar twister in many cigar factories, first took up the idea of becoming a tobacco sculptor in 1994.

His work will be on display at the 14th Habano Cigar Festival to be held Feb 27-March 2.

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• Happiness is a hotel cigar evening for new generation of female smokers 

An unhealthy habit that whispers of closed doors and secret deals is enjoying an unlikely resurgence. Women smoke cigars now – at least, they do if you ask London's top-flight hotels. The May Fair, near Green Park, has announced plans to open a cigar room this spring that will offer a "feminine experience", consigning the gentleman's club atmosphere to the history books, and sprucing the place up with pot plants and a choice of Martinis.

The May Fair joins No. Ten Manchester Street, a hotel in Marylebone, which recently launched a regular ladies' cigar evening, where female chompers can enjoy their stogies without feeling inhibited. The Lanesborough and The Langham also boast cigar rooms or terraces to satisfy a growing demand among a new generation of smokers.

I hope my doctor isn't reading this, because I'm fairly sure he'd take a dim view of me pulling away on a Cuban at 10am on a Friday morning. Puff Daddy would understand. And besides, it was all in the name of research. . . .

But cigar-smoking today is less about making a stand than it is about taking a seat. Part of the joy of a cigar, I am told, is the fact you can draw it out over an evening; this is not a quick chuff while you're waiting for the bus. "We have gents who sit for five, six hours and smoke three," says Nemethova, "but that's too much for me. One over three hours maybe, is really nice but there isn't always time."

And the cigar industry is catering to this new market – unsurprisingly, given cigar sales declined by 5.4 per cent last year and were hit severely by the smoking ban. But they're on the up again, as hotels get wise to the limitations of the laws. These new spaces skirt the ban's definition of indoor space as one that is 50 per cent covered, with mesh walls, foliage, tiles and outdoor heaters to create an ambience that is fresh – both literally and metaphorically – and as free of fug as it is of fogies.

Havana itself has recognised the unlikely new demand: Cuba's most famous brand, Romeo Y Julieta, last year developed the "Julieta", a 4.75-incher targeted at the lady smoker.

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General Cigar kicks off Super Bowl weekend in style  

General Cigar will be the toast of Indianapolis this weekend, with sampling events that are on par with the Big Game itself. In fact, two of the three events that General Cigar is participating in have been named to BleacherReport.com's highly-publicized ranking of the "10 Best Parties of Super Bowl Week."

According to Alan Willner, General Cigar's vice president of marketing said, "General Cigar has long been known for associating our brands with high profile events that elevate the cigar smoking occasion. This year, we'll once again be at the best parties leading up to the 'Big Game' to bring the ultimate cigar smoking experience to A-list athletes, celebrities and football enthusiasts."

Last night's Jaws Cigar Party was hosted by none other than Ron Jaworski at Nicky Blaine's cigar bar in downtown Indy. This fundraiser benefitted Ron's pet charities -- Jaws Youth Playbook Foundation and Gleaners Food Bank's BackSack program. . . .

Tonight (Friday, Feb. 3) is the SPP Sports Poker Tournament to be held at the Indianapolis Zoo. General Cigar will be on hand to sample Punch, Grand Puro and Grand Cru cigars to event hosts Devin Hester, LeSean McCoy. Other noteworthy names expected to attend are Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement) and Quinton Aaron (The Blind Side) and a slew of NFL greats. Stay tuned for more info.

Saturday night is the big Rolling Stone party at the Crane Bay event center. To celebrate Bacardi's 150th anniversary, General Cigar has teamed up with the premier rum brand and will serve La Gloria Cubana and CAO La Traviata to a roster of A-list guests.

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LATHEN: Tobacco is NOT an equal opportunity addictor OR killer  

Tobacco related disparities are no accident. Armed with targeted marketing strategies, cigarettes and a whole line of addictive OTPs (other tobacco products), the tobacco industry’s tactics intentionally cause a higher burden on some populations than on others.

Smoking cigarettes leads to many health problems, including cancer, and many of us know one or more of these risks. But most people aren’t familiar with OTPs and the risks associated with using them. Packaged and flavored like candy, OTPs are noncigarette products that range from little cigars and Swisher Sweets to smokeless products like Orbs, which look like Tic Tacs. Cigarettes and OTPs are not marketed or taxed equally, resulting in many tobacco related disparities. . . .

Tax equity, as we call it, would tax OTPs at the equivalent of $2.52 per cigarette pack. If Wisconsin taxed all tobacco products the same it would make it harder for youth and low-income residents to purchase these addictive products, and it would generate tax dollars to help balance the state budget and supplement the TPCP budget.

Tobacco use goes beyond affecting the individual smokers. It affects communities in many ways, and some communities experience more adversity because of higher cigarette and OTP usage. As a community it is our responsibility to work towards reducing tobacco harm because tobacco companies certainly aren’t looking out for our health. Make a difference by writing to your legislatures today about how cigarettes and OTPs affect people in your community.

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Viggo: I had to chain-smoke cigars  

Viggo Mortensen has admitted he had to get used to chain-smoking cigars on the set of A Dangerous Method.

The Lord Of The Rings star appears opposite Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley in David Cronenberg's new film about the friendship between Sigmund Freud and fellow psychologist Carl Jung, in which he plays cigar lover Freud.

Viggo revealed: "I enjoyed it after a while. I had good memories from childhood of grandfather smoking a lot of cigars, so I didn't mind the way they smelled and everything.

"But it took a while to get used to smoking that many a day. He smoked 20, 22 big cigars a day. In photographs of Freud, you almost never see him without a cigar, in hand, in his mouth, even when he's with kids, social situations and family situations. Certainly always when he was reading or writing or lecturing, so I had to do it.

"It took a little getting used to, I was a little dizzy the first couple of days, but then it became fun."

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Fifth in a Series: Update on Possible FDA Regulation of Cigars and Pipe Tobacco 

On April 25, 2011, the FDA issued a letter stating its intent to propose regulations on other tobacco products, such as cigars and pipe tobacco. The letter went on to state that these regulations may include company registration, product listing, ingredient listing, good manufacturing practice requirements, user fees for certain products and premarket review requirements for new tobacco products and modified risk tobacco products.

Subsequent to the April 2011 announcement by the FDA, industry trade groups representing cigar and pipe tobacco manufacturers have made presentations to FDA staff on the uniqueness of these tobacco products and the agency has not yet issued any proposed regulations for these products. In particular, NATO provided the FDA with recent national survey data, which shows that from 2009 to 2010, pipe tobacco use among youth under the age of 18 declined 30% from .9% of minors to just .6% of minors. This further reduction in pipe tobacco usage demonstrates that the issue of minors using pipe tobacco is almost non-existent.

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Statement by the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, on Enforcement of the Cracking Down on Tobacco Marketing Aimed At Youth Act 

Yesterday, Health Canada's tobacco inspectors conducted simultaneous seizures of little cigars at three Quebec-based importers.

The Tobacco Act prohibits the retail sale of cigarettes, little cigars and blunt wraps packaged in less than 20 units.

The Act also bans the use of certain additives - including additives used to create flavours like chocolate and bubble gum - in cigarettes, little cigars and blunt wraps, or any suggestion on their packages that the products contain these additives.

These measures aim to protect children and youth from marketing practices that encourage them to use tobacco products.

These seizures took place at the warehouses of Casa Cubana, Groupe Tabac Scandinave, and Distribution GVA Inc. They mark the first of such seizures at the importer level since the packaging requirements were changed as part of the Cracking Down on Tobacco Marketing Aimed At Youth Act (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/nr-cp/_2010/2010_112-eng.php), which came into force in 2010 as an amendment to the Tobacco Act.

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New Mexico Bill Would More than Double Tobacco Products Taxes, and Perhaps Tax E-Cigarettes 

A bill has been introduced in the New Mexico legislature that would more than double the tax rate on OTP -- tobacco products other than cigarettes, such as smokeless and cigars -- from 25% of the product's value to 57% of the product's value.

Perhaps more significant is the bill's expanded definition of "tobacco products," which would be redefined to include "any product containing tobacco that is intended or expected to be consumed without being combusted, unless it has been approved by the United States food and drug administration as a tobacco use cessation product and is being marketed and sold for that approved purpose." This could arguably cover electronic cigarettes

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Don't go to Ryleigh's cigar social expecting to smoke indoors  

But don't expect to smoke inside the Federal Hill bar, says owner Brian McComas. The event is just that - promotion for the cigar shop and for Jameson whiskey. It's part of the bar's spirits tasting series.

"They hope customers will walk up to the store after our event," McComas says, referring to Cross Street.

Even those bars that received waivers from the ban can't host smokers anymore - the waivers expired last year.

If there is smoking inside, Ryleigh's could face a stiff penalty of at least $500 from a city sanitation inspector.

Smoking at bars and restaurants has been illegal in Baltimore since 2007. Later that year, Governor Martin O'Malley signed a statewide ban, one of the country's most restrictive, making Maryland, at the time, one about 20 states to also enforce anti-smoking laws. Both bans came into effect in 2008.

Since then, smoking bans have come to more and more outdoor venues as well, most recently the Baltimore Farmers' Market.

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