I think the title speaks for itself.  If you’re an adult you know this to be true and life today is certainly not as black and white as in the days of “Ozzie and Harriet.” With that being said, I’d like to take this space and discuss something that has been occupying a lot of my time: fighting for fairness in the tobacco industry.

If you are not a resident of New York State or obsessed with tobacco legislation like myself and my colleagues, you may not know that here in the Empire State we have a problem.  (Well it’s more like we have a problem that is creating more problems by the name of David Paterson and his so-called ideas to close the budget gap.) According to the most recent figures we have a $9.2 billion deficit for FY2010 and our “governor” — I use that title in quotation because not only does he refuse to lead, but when he attempts to try he fails MISERABLY — thinks that there are certain items that should be taxed in order to make up the missing money the state needs to operate.

First and foremost, I am all for taxing sugary drinks, soda, fatty foods, etc. : I know the argument is that lower income neighbourhoods will suffer, but not if this is done correctly.  I live in Central Harlem and while my area is beautiful and I love my neighbours, we obviously don’t have the same cash-flow as someone living on 72nd and Fifth.  I can vouch that places like Harlem and Washington Heights are riddled with greasy Chinese take out spots, pizza places, and thirty thousand types of fried chicken restaurants, but we do lack access to proper produce in our grocery stores and bodegas.  It’s not that we always don’t know what to eat but it’s the ability to procure fresh fruit and vegetables that is the problem, and so with this fat & sugar tax there needs to be a concerted effort to give of the markets above 96th St the ability to sell produce that is edible.  There are way too many obese and morbidly obese people in this country (and this state) and the battle starts at home.

Now onto the heart of my argument: the proposed tobacco tax. Here in New York we have the highest taxes on tobacco products in the Union along with California.  At 46% when you purchase a cigar or pack of cigarettes literally half of what you pay goes to the government.  Gov. Paterson thinks that raising the tax to 90% is going to solve New York’s problems because the guy who weighs 500lbs is worried about paying more than $2.00 for a 20 oz Pepsi and over $3.99 for a jumbo bag of Doritos.  I hate to say it, but if smokers and tobacconists alike do not unite and remain strong and badger elected officials with phone calls/faxes/e-mails/letters providing lucid arguments then all of your favourite B&Ms will be forced to close their doors.  Aside from losing the ability as an adult to freely walk into an establishment and enjoy a fine cigar, think about the hundreds of years and tradition — often family owned and operated –that will be lost along with jobs of hardworking tobacconists who not only love their craft, but have become a part of your life as your friend.

The silliest part of this whole situation is that these elected officials are not businessmen.  They have no concept of the economic ramifications that exist if their tax increase makes us close our doors. Tobacco is historically a cash crop and will always be that in one form or another, and it creates revenue for the government today as it did for the monarchies of Old Europe centuries ago.  If New York is running around and complaining about budget deficits could you imagine what would happen if the State received NOTHING from the sale of tobacco?  We already went the prohibition route with alcohol and that backfired in a plethora of ways, but government officials don’t seem to realize that making the same mistake twice is ludicrous. This is not algebra class, folks: a negative multiplied by a negative does NOT equal a positive.

All anger and frustration aside, there are things that should be done to create more revenue and have the government leave tobacco alone.  In a discussion with a friend this morning who was complaining about our new licenses plates (which are mandatory), he not only mentioned he didn’t like the colours/design, but how each car must have these plates within two years.  News flash: $25 multiplied by the millions of cars registered here in New York will create billions of dollars in state revenue.   In addition to the license plates and the so-called “fat tax,” is there really any harm being done to tax those who earn a substantial income at a higher rate?  Taxing the rich would create a lot of windfall dollars that are ultimately necessary would by no means put that big of a dent in the life of the opulent.

The government is too big. Too many cooks in the kitchen and that costs money, so why not reduce the size of the government to reduce spending?  To be perfectly honest only three real politicians here have the power, so why not weed out what is unnecessary, such as agencies funded by the government that could be consolidated with their counterparts? On an even more practical level let’s reform the budgetary process in general because all of the nonsense that goes into creating and attempting to ratify a budget often costs millions of dollars, and much of that time is spent with officials twiddling their fat thumbs.

I’m sure you all have the same feelings I do: no more taxes, no more fees, and leave tobacco alone.  In the past two years between City and State we’ve had four new taxes levied on us here for tobacco and that’s just ridiculous. Whether you are a tobacco enthusiast, tobacconist, shop owner, or occasional lover of cigars you need to exercise your rights and make your voice be heard.  I have seen instances before where collective efforts, calculated arguments, and large numbers are not ignored and proposed tobacco legislation is defeated.   If you are unsure of where to go, please talk to your local tobacconist who can provide you with form letters where all you have to do is sign your name in support of this cause.  If any of you want to contact me I have letters, names, and addresses of those you can write to, e-mail, call, or fax and I would be happy to send you what you need to stand up and let your voice be heard

“I think myself that we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.” — Thomas Jefferson

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This great piece of commentary comes from Patrick S–one of the two “Stogie Guys”–in regards to the painfully obvious double standard when it comes to women and cigars.  Patrick asked me via e-mail after the Canadian Women’s Hockey Team controversy a few questions and below you’ll find my opinions on the situation as a whole.

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Stogie Commentary: Cigars for Women, A Double Standard?

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Two recent news items got me thinking about cigars for women. Both, I think, demonstrate a  clear double standard.

First, Cubatabaco, Cuba’s national tobacco company, introduced a new cigar designed for women. Julieta is described as “a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar.” Only days later, a classic sports moment played out: The championship team returned to the scene of their triumph to celebrate with some champagne, beer, and fine cigars. It looked just like Michael Jordan celebrating a championship,. The only difference was the athletes were women.

Soon the Canadian women’s hockey team was embroiled in controversy with one IOC official even saying, “I don’t think it’s a good promotion of sport values.” But given how common such celebrations are in sports, I couldn’t help but feel that a double standard was being applied, in part because these female champions had the audacity to celebrate with cigars in range of a camera.

The two incidents got me thinking about why cigars marketed to women tend to be either flavored or mild. I posed the question to Lindsay Heller, cigar blogger and tobacconist at Nat Sherman Cigars in New York.

“Honestly, I find it rather demeaning,” she told me by email. “This is not the Victorian Era anymore and it’s not considered illicit for a woman to be smoking, so why treat women who wish to smoke as if they can’t handle the ‘real thing?’”

She continued: “In terms of marketing those products towards women I think it’s insulting because in many B&Ms when a woman comes in wanting a cigar the sales associate automatically assumes something flavored. If you give a woman half a chance and explain to her the cigar she will be smoking, you’ll probably find that even the most inexperienced of female smokers will appreciate it and ditch the Havana Honeys. I think the same thing goes for the mild scenario:  If a woman wants to smoke a cigar after eating filet mignon and drink a few glasses of Bordeaux, any tobacconist in their right mind would not offer her a Macanudo Gold Label. In the tobacco business we need to stop addressing women as these fragile figures because women have palates, too.”

As for the new Cuban Julieta cigar, Lindsay had her doubts: “Maybe this is my palate talking, but I don’t find the traditional Romeo y Julieta Cuban cigars to be all that strong, so if this is truly that much more mild, it would probably be like smoking an expensive ultra light cigarette.”

So how should the cigar industry market their cigars to female smokers? “Women definitely need to be addressed like they are just one of the guys,” she responds.

“While the numbers of female cigar smokers in the U.S. are increasing due to a number of factors (curiosity, joining a boyfriend/husband in the activity, etc…) seeing a woman smoke cigars is still very taboo for Americans and it’s not looked at as nearly an oddity in other countries. I work in this business and there are random people who walk into my store and react like I’m doing some illegal by being a female with a cigar in my mouth. It’s funny because I actually find more men smoke flavored or infused smokes like Acids and Tabak Especiales and many of the women I come across are more apt to try a traditional cigar…Women are not stupid and shouldn’t be treated like they can’t handle what the boys do.”

On that point I couldn’t agree more. With the cigar industry under pressure from smoking bans and other anti-cigar legislation, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see efforts to attract new customers. But treating women like they can’t enjoy the same wide range of fine cigars as men is just, well, sexist.

-Patrick S

photo credit: Boston.com

I’m sorry that I can’t remember who exactly said this on Twitter a few days ago since it was retweeted so many times, but someone made a comment alluding to the kindness of cigar smokers.  He had basically said that cigar smokers–due to their activity of choice–are by default kinder people, and boy was he right.  Over the last few  long days full of lots of undue stress, I am flat-out amazed at some of the e-mails, cards, and in-person words of praise I’ve received from customers.

There was a woman who worked at Nat Sherman for many years whom I had the pleasure of knowing and she made a great point: being someone’s tobacconist is like being someone’s hair dresser. Over time you get to know many of your customers quite well and in some cases you even get to know their families and friends. Over the years as I remember milestones in my customers’ lives, they do the same for me. I always feel a bit strange but appreciative when someone remembers me on my birthday, a holiday (I actually have a customer who makes me Easter baskets!), or during bad times like the loss of a loved one. My point outside of that there is still good in this world is that we cigar lovers for some reason have quite the bond between us.

Over the past few days I had a customer send me the most wonderful card and piece of original artwork simply thanking me for answering a series of questions that helped him solve a problem with a very old Dunhill lighter. I always send him a little something extra with his order because he’s very loyal and a sweet person, but the funny part is we’ve never met in person. (A couple of years ago he called the store and we hit it off on the phone & he’s been a customer ever since.)  Over the weekend a customer knew I was a bit unhappy due to some stupid circumstances out of my control and he came by and brought me chocolates. To top it all off, this morning I got a lovely e-mail from a customer who I had met over the summer with his friend profusely thanking me for doing what I do, how I do it. He told me wonderful stories of friendship thanks to smoking Nat Sherman cigars and how his trip to New York and visit to our flagship store was a highlight for him as a cigar lover from California where the smoking laws are even worse than ours here in the Big Apple. It’s the simple things like this truly make me smile.

One weekend when I was visiting my friend Barry at Ashes Tobacconist up in the Bronx, he and I had a conversation that I’m sure many of us have had with a fellow smoker at some point in time: cigars seem to break down any social barriers. You can sit in a lounge and light up a favourite smoke and at some point you make contact with a person or people around you.  The conversation probably starts with a comment about what you’re all smoking or some sporting event on TV, but the point is you become friendly with someone you might have never spoken to otherwise. In many cases you run into your new acquaintances at your smoking spot of choice and you really do become friends.

In an era of mass communication due to our iPhones and Blackberrys, we have kind of lost the art of conversation ironically enough. The way in which we meet new people has totally changed, but there are still some interests/hobbies that allow us to indulge in human interaction the way it was (and always still be): by congregating in a place populated by those with similar interests.  Do you ever wonder why it’s so much easier to have a pleasant conversation while smoking a cigar with a friend in a lounge or in your backyard during a BBQ?  That one simple thing that you have in common will always stand as a reminder that we’re actually a lot more alike than we tend to think.

You know I’m starting to sympathize with my 90 year-old Grandfather: it takes a lot of convincing for me to buy into technology.  Those of you that know me in person are well aware that my Blackberry is essentially an extra appendage now, but even I didn’t decide it was a necessary evil until December 2008. However, thanks to my friend Tony of www.smokescore.com, I have now been convinced that my own website and blog are in order, so voilà here I am.

I’m here to use this platform not just to discuss my personal views on a lot of things (namely the cigar industry), but to provide you with news and information you might not otherwise know as a consumer.  Everyone always asks for my opinions so I will begin doing what a lot of my colleagues do as well in providing reviews. In addition to all this I hope that dialogues are started; plus anyone that wishes to contact me, please feel free to do so: one thing I love about my work in this industry is the ability to connect with the consumer, so I assure you that your e-mails and questions will be answered!

At the risk of starting to sound really corny–that’s assuming I’m not already there!–I’m going end this premiere post.  Let the games begin!