1/2 Billion and counting by Frank Seltzer
Zippo 500,000,000
500-million of anything is kinda a big deal (unless you are counting the federal budget and deficit). It has taken 80 years but Zippo is going to make its 500 millionth lighter on June 5th. They announced this yesterday.
Now I know they may not be the best for cigars, you have to let the lighter fluid burn off a bit, but they are iconic lighters and that click is more known than the ping of more expensive lighters. (Our website only has 14 pages of em.) Sides to me they have always felt good in my hand. I still have my father’s Zippo from the 50s.
So how do they know when they will make the 500-millionth? Well they are kinda fudging it a bit since June 5th is the birthday of Zippo’s late founder George Blaisdell. “When we realized that our 500 Millionth lighter and the birthday of Mr. Blaisdell were both on the horizon, we decided to ramp up production to ensure the milestones would coincide,” said Greg Booth, Zippo president and CEO. “We weren’t sure if we could do it at first, but we have now confirmed that we will be able to meet this date. We are also excited that the 500 Millionth achievement is occurring during our 80th anniversary year.”
The actual 500-millionth lighter will be made in the traditional brushed chrome and carry a time stamp and a serial number of 1. It will go on display in the company’s museum. Then throughout the day of June 5th, the company will make 50-thousand more replicas, each with a special stamp on the bottom. These will be about $50. But if you want a higher priced Zippo, there will be a limited edition lighter of only 10-thousand, each with a serial number on it. They will retail for $100. Look for them later this year.
Buyer Beware
In the U.K there is a law suit going on between a night club owner and one of that nation’s oldest tobacconists and at stake is £145,000 or about $233,000. The store — Fox of St James — has been operating for 220 years. (The Brits think that makes it the oldest tobacconist in the world when Demuth in Lancaster, PA, has been around for 247 years.) Fox was most notably known as a place Winston Churchill used to visit to enjoy a cigar. Anyway the nightclub owner bought a collection of vintage cigars and when he opened them….he had beetles! The night club owner says Fox assured him the cigars were fine (they had come from a private collector.) Neither Fox nor the night clubowner have publicly commented on the law suit. But remember when buying older cigars, be sure YOU check them for beetles.
Smoke In
Gulfport is a small city in the Tampa area and last November the city council passed a ban on smoking for the beach. The city said it was to curb littering. Attorney Andy Strickland says it is against Florida law and it fighting it. He wants a $143 ticket for smoking on thhe beach so he can go to court. He was cited back in February, but when the charges came up, the city dropped it. So this past weekend, Strickland and more than a dozen supporters fired up cigars and cigarettes on the beach. The goal was to get another ticket.
Well once they started smoking, police showed up within the hour and told the protestors, sorry we are busy, we’ll get back to you. About 2 hours after it all began, the cops finally came back and said they would prefer to write one citation. Strickland volunteered. He now will go to court on May 24th where he wants to fight the law legally.
The protestors noted that the Gulfport Teen Council looked at the ban and thought it would be better to invoke it on only half the beach to avoid infringing on people’s rights. Wow the teens get it.
“Everybody’s entitled to their right,” Morgan Jones said.
Jones is a Gulfport resident, small business owner and cigar smoker. Jones is a member of Cigar Rights of America and says cigar smokers are being attacked. He says as a smoker, he respects other people and disposes of his cigars properly.
“This is a lifestyle, not a habit,” Jones said.
Dennis Cline of Madeira Beach said, “I think the erosion of any of our rights is something everyone should be concerned with.”
Indeed.
FDA Petition
If you have not signed the White House petition to keep the FDA away from our cigars, do it today. We have until may 11th to gather 25,000 signatures and as of this writing we are less than 2,000 away. But remember 25k is only the lowest threshold. The more signatures we get the better. This is an election year and the saying is I smoke and I vote. Let Washington know we want them to keep their hands off our stogies.
