Hey Cigar Smokers – This Reprieve is What We Need, by Tommy Zman
Wow… sometimes if you make enough noise, ruffle enough feathers, and turn over a slew of apple carts, you just might get people to take notice. What am I talking about you may ask? Well cigars is what we talk about on this here blog and the issue of the day has been the Food & Drug Administration’s attempted takeover of the cigar industry, a move that you all are aware would cause great harm, putting 85.000 jobs in peril.
Originally, this past Thursday, December 8th was the deadline that the FDA set for taking public input on this smoky matter. But the tobacco gods have smiled upon us all, as the date has been moved to January 19, 2012, proving to me that our voices may not be falling on deaf ears after all.
Now, I hope you don’t for a moment think I’m beating the proverbial dead horse with all of this FDA talk, 
because there couldn’t be a more serious issue that needs all of our attention.
Okay, back to my first point… who exactly is making all this noise and ruffling all them feathers? WE ARE – you and I, the cigar lovers of our great nation. Through the valiant efforts of Cigar Rights of America, close to 130,000 petitions have been sent to Washington letting the legislators know that in no uncertain terms they are NOT going to mess with a legal product that we hold in the highest regard. There is no passion I know of like that of the cigar smoker and we are letting the politicos know exactly how we feel… but, guys… I’m sorry to say that it’s not enough. While the time extension is a very good thing, we must remain vigilant in letting the D.C. dumbasses know that we’re gonna fight this tooth and nail, through hell and high water, yada, yada, yada, and any other colloquial expressions that I might possibly think of.
While the decision to extend the date on public opinion is a surprising one, I really have to believe that the actions of the cigar smoking populous may have raised an eyebrow or two, causing the FDA-holes to to stop from sweeping our ashes under the rug so quickly. While I have no tangible proof of this, I do know that proposition H.R. 1639 / S. 1461 – Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act has garnered the support of a great number of U.S. Congressmen and Women. And the really cool thing is that while a number of these politicos don’t even smoke, they do see this proposed takeover as an infringement upon our rights and just another ransacking of our personal freedoms.
While none of us can really predict how this will all pan out, I have to believe that the cigar lobby has made a pretty strong case in the fact that the FDA’s iron fist takeover would be genocide to an industry that has existed for hundreds of years, and as I said earlier, employs a tremendous amount of people -including yours truly. Yeah, this one has gotten personal, my friends.
So keep sending your pals those emails, post about it on FaceBook, Twitter, and all your favorite social media outlets, and support Cigar Rights of America in their patriotic grass roots fight in saving the world of cigars as we know it. Thanks again for listening, my buds, and continue to kick those ashes that need to be kicked.
Like I always say…Stay Smoky My Friends.
