A Creative Director, a Victory and a New Health Hazard by Frank Seltzer
Michael Giannini has been spear-heading several projects over at General Cigars. He was the one who helped form the Team La Gloria several years ago with Rick Rodriguez, Yuri Guillen and Leo Peraza. That team developed the Artesanos series for La Gloria. Up until now, he was just part of General Cigar’s marketing team, but now he has a new title: Creative Director. What does that mean? Well Giannini compares it to the fashion industry where a creative director comes up with ideas, which is what he is doing. He says he is like an orchestra conductor. He comes up with the ideas and then works with the company’s artisans and masters to make the idea a reality.
He was the one behind the La Gloria Cubana Serie N last year and this year his newest idea is the steampunk cigar called Foundry. Giannini has been in the cigar industry for 30 years working as a retailer, a cigar rep, sales manager for La Gloria Cubana and now Creative Director.
Good News
On Saturday, there was a vote held in Switzerland to try to tighten the nation’s smoking ban. As of now, 18 of the country’s 26 cantons (or states or provinces) currently allow for exemptions to the smoking ban most are in special smoking lounges with waiter service and in small cafes and bars. The proposal would have wiped out those exemptions.
Ahead of the vote eight of the cantons, particularly in French-speaking western Switzerland, had banned smoking from restaurants and bars altogether. They only tolerate special rooms without waiter service.
Guess they thought it would pass. Whoops. The proposal failed miserably.
Two out of three voters rejected the Lung League’s initiative for a uniform nationwide law banning smoking in indoor working places, but allowing cantons to state exceptions.
Oh well…they will try again.
Really, Really?
In June, the World Health Organization decreed that exhaust from diesel trucks causes lung cancer.
It’s raised the status of diesel exhaust from “probable carcinogen” to carcinogen. That means diesel exhaust joins the same category as other known hazards such as tobacco, asbestos, arsenic and ultraviolet radiation.
The WHO says diesel is not as bad as second hand smoke but still bad.
One of the biggest studies the group analyzed found that diesel fumes was more cancer causing than secondhand cigarette smoke, but a much smaller risk than smoking two packs a day, said Dr. Debra T. Silverman, a cancer researcher for the United States government who headed the landmark study that led to Tuesday’s decision, The New York Times reported.
Ok so this is a study from June…well last week comes ANOTHER study and this one says hold on, diesel is not as bad as another health danger. Charbroiled hamburgers. Yep you read that right. Burgers are much more dangerous.
“For comparison, an 18-wheeler diesel engine truck would have to drive 143 miles on the freeway to put out the same mass of particulates as a single charbroiled hamburger patty,” said Bill Welch, the principle engineer [of the study].
Of course this study was paid with California tax dollars. Nice to know the state’s plentiful cash is being spent on something worthwhile.
I Forget
Another new study out last week says second hand smoke can wipe out your memory.
Researchers found that the non-smokers who had been exposed to second-hand smoke forgot almost 20% more in the memory tests than those non-smokers not exposed. However, both groups out-performed the current smokers who forgot 30% more than those who were not exposed to second-hand smoking.
The study done in the United Kingdom had a huge sample…wait did I say huge? There were a total of 83 people making up the three groups tested. 27 each for current smokers and people exposed to second hand smoke and 29 non smokers.
But this contradicts a 2003 study which showed that Nicotine improves memory and may protect against Alzheimers, Parkinsons and even schizophrenia.
During times of stress, smokers tend to increase the number of cigarettes they light up — perhaps as a form of self-medication to counteract the harmful effects of stress on the brain. Stress, which may range from mild anxiety to posttraumatic stress disorder, has been shown to impair normal brain function, including learning and memory.
I know a well timed cigar helps me relax.
