Freedom and Courts by Frank Seltzer
When you get through with the trade show, there are so many cigars and so little time to smoke them all, it takes a while to go through them. One, which will ship to stores this week, is Freedom by Rocky Patel. Made at his Tabacusa factory in Esteli, it uses an Oscuro wrapper over Nicaraguan filers and binder. The cigar is medium to full bodied with lush flavors. The name Freedom is apropos considering the fight Rocky and others in the industry are having to keep the FDA out of our cigars. (BTW if you have not petitioned your congressman or senator, please do so now.)
But the name has other meanings as well. The cigar actually is named for the Carnival Cruise ship Freedom which will host Rocky’s Cigar Cruise next April. It comes in four sizes—Robusto (5”x50), Toro (6”x52), Torpedo (6.125”x52) and Sixty (6”x60). The suggested price runs $7.50 for the Robusto up to $8.50 for the Sixty.
Another Court Win
On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington ruled 2-1 to uphold a lower court decision which said the graphic warnings on cigarette packs are unconstitutional. In essence, the court told the FDA to go back to the drawing board. The court ruled that the case raises questions about the ability of the government to force the manufacturers to go beyond factual information and literally undermine their own economic interests.
The court also wrote that the FDA “has not provided a shred of evidence” showing that the warnings will “directly advance” its interest in reducing the number of Americans who smoke.
Although the FDA “makes much of the ‘international consensus’ surrounding the effectiveness of large graphic warnings,” it “offers no evidence showing that such warnings have directly caused a material decrease in smoking rates in any of the countries that now require them.”
This matter will probably end up in the Supreme Court.
Look ahead, Look Down under
Speaking of courts…last week we noted the Australian High Court ruling that plain packaging for cigarettes was hunky dory. For those who think we can negotiate with the anti’s need to pay attention. According to Chris Snowdon, Tasmania is looking at banning all tobacco sales.
The deal would be for anyone born in the year 2000 or later, tobacco would be off limits. Mostly they are talking about cigarettes but they say tobacco which most likely would include cigars. According to the article, Finland and Singapore are considering similar laws.
Jann Smith from the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Council says it is unclear whether the move will help smokers to quit.
“If we’re talking about changing this, we can also see consequences that we might not have thought through,” she said.
“So there could be a black market that would emerge. There could be a range of other consequences that we need to think through.”
According to Snowdon:
As with Ireland’s smoking ban and Australia’s plain packaging law, the real motivation is for undistinguished politicians and lobbyists to make a name for themselves by being “exciting” and bullying a minority in the knowledge that their only financed opposition is a demonised industry.
Nowhere in this article is there any suggestion that grown adults—now or in the future—might have the right to buy and smoke tobacco if they want to. It’s a sort of “think of the children even when they are no longer children” argument, which is fitting since Australian politicians clearly see the whole population as children and themselves as—what other word can there be?—nannies.
I have increasingly come to believe that the worst thing about Australia is that it is not far enough away.
Not too Sweet in Sugarland
Down in the Houston suburb of Sugarland, the smell of cigar and pipe smoke has prompted a landlord to apparently change the conditions of a cigar store’s lease. For the past four and a half years, smokers have been using an outdoor patio at Cigar Cigar to enjoy their cigars. Now no more.
Owners of Cigar Cigar say they received a letter from the property management in May stating that it was changing the rules of its lease, prohibiting smoking of cigars or pipes within all outdoor or common areas. Cigarette smoking, however, is still allowed.
Store general manager Tom Parks says according to city ordinance, the smoking is legal, but the property management company and owners want to change that. Needless to say the matter is going to court.
This is a toughie. I appreciate the store’s position, especially if the property management company is changing the terms of the existing lease. However, this is a property rights issue and as such the owner of the property can go no smoking if desired. I find the fact that cigarette smoking still being allowed is interesting and this should prove to be an interesting case since obviously it has nothing to do with second hand smoke and more about the smell.
