Sixto by Plasencia, Science and Congrats by Frank Seltzer
In the overwhelming release of new cigars at the trade show, one may have been overlooked. It is Don Sixto being marketed by General Cigar and made by the Plasencias in Honduras. The Plasencias are known as growers of wonderful tobacco in Central America and makers of popular cigars such as Rocky Patel’s Edge, MATASA’s Casa Magna and Alec Bradley’s Black Market.
Don Sixto
To many people it is a Don Who? But in reality it is named for Nestor Plasencia’s grandfather who arrived in Cuba at age 14 in 1890 and for Nestor’s father. Sixto made the voyage from Spain by himself and immediately began working in his family’s established growing business in the Vuelta Abajo region. Nestor’s father, Sixto, Jr., was born on the family farm and literally grew up in tobacco. The family prospered until the Cuban Revolution and in 1965 Sixto, Jr and his family left Cuba and ended up in Honduras thanks to an old friend, Julio Eiroa (his family would make Camacho, Baccarat and La Fontana)who told him about the land, the tobacco and got the Plasencia family visas.
This new cigar from Nestor Plasencia honors his grandfather and is made from tobaccos grown on the farms that Nestor’s father cultivated for years. The cigar uses Connecticut Honduras wrapper, a Habano Esteli binder with Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. The cigar is a medium plus body with complex flavors. Don Sixto comes in 4 sizes, from a Robusto to a Grande (6” x 60) with prices of $5.75 to $7.25.
Real Science
By now you may have read about the Canadian study which said eating eggs was just as bad as smoking. You know I think I may agree but not for the study’s reasons. I think most studies on smoking are about as sound as this one. The study INTERVIEWED a bunch of people to ask them how many eggs they eat and how much they smoke etc. Getting people to remember what they ate and how often is shoddy science. In fact, within a or two day, ABC News actually had a story saying the egg study was not what it was cracked up to be.
“This is very poor quality research that should not influence patient’s dietary choices,” said Dr. Steven Nissen, who chairs the department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, in an email. “It is extremely important to understand the differences between ‘association’ and ‘causation’.”
Dr. Tom Linden, a medical journalism professor at the University of North Carolina,said journalists should exercise caution when writing about studies like this. He said they should put the studies into context by explaining the caveats and consulting experts
“The danger here is headline writers who aren’t necessarily science writers may go way overboard in headlining the story,” Linden said.
And yet when ever a study claims to find smoking dangers, the headlines scream and there is no moderation amongst the journalist class since everyone knows about 2nd hand smoke etc.
Bad News Down Under
You may or may not have seen that the Australian High Court upheld a new law that will take cigarette brands off of packaging and instead put graphic pictures of cancer-ridden mouths in their place. (By the way isn’t a virus responsible for many mouth cancers? Don’t let science get in the way.) The new packaging will be uniformly olive drab with scare warnings on them. In the U-S there is a move to do the same thing here…fortunately we do have the First Amendment and apparently Australia does not.
What this plain packaging will do is remove premium cigarettes, since there will be no more Marlboro, and give the edge to cheaper alternatives. Oh and drive more people to the black market.
Chris Snowden writes about the Australian decision and Professor Simon Chapman from the University of Sydney’s response to it where he said getting rid of the premium brands will hurt the cigarette companies.
The money is in the premium brands. The premium brands are about to lose much of their appeal and so people are going to turn to cheaper cigarettes. Pushing people onto cheaper cigarettes is not generally considered to be best practice in public health. But fear not, because Chapman has the solution…
But the Australian government can simply raise tobacco tax overnight as often as it needs to effectively maintain a floor price for cigarettes that will deter smokers from buying more than they could have afforded previously.
The man’s a genius! Make cigarettes more expensive and fewer people will buy them. Why has no one thought of this before?!
Since this is such a cunning plan, why not double the price of cigarettes? In fact, why not triple it?
Oh, that’s right. Because higher prices give massive incentives for people to buy cigarettes on the black market and it gives black marketeers further incentives to increase supply. That would explain why Ireland—the home of Europe’s most expensive cigarettes—has an illicit tobacco market which is off the frickin’ scale. Add plain packaging into the mix and you have cigarettes that are easier to counterfeit, combined with bigger profit margins from escalating tobacco duty. And, of course, organised criminals don’t care how old their customers are. Jeez, what could possibly go wrong?
Precisely.
Congratulations
Cigar Aficionado's 20th
The new issue of Cigar Aficionado is out and it is a celebration of the magazine’s 20th anniversary. I have just skimmed it but there are look backs and looks ahead. This magazine helped to start the cigar boom and may it have another 20. Congratulations guys.
