The Borons Cigar Blog

Nope not that J Lo, instead it is much older, Juan Lopez  a very old Cuban brand that had been sold by Altadis but then kinda got dropped. As I reported from IPCPR, the company is re-invigorating the brand while keeping the classic Cuban look.  Today the new Juan Lopez is a Nicaraguan puro using a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan Criollo binder and Nicaraguan fillers.  These are really tasty cigars and come in three sizes Number one at 5” x 54, Number two 6” x 54 and Number three at 6” x 60 in 16 count boxes…the best news is the price, around $5 each.

Elections Matter

There is a lot of East Coast news going on today.  First up is the New York City Mayoral primary.  This is the time to finally get rid of Nanny Bloomberg.  I have not paid really any attention to the politics of NYC, although I assume the next mayor will be almost as bad as Bloomberg.  But at least Weiner’s experiencing shrinkage….in the polls that is.

With that being said, there is a guy running on the Republican side that ya gotta love,  John Catsimatidis.   Last week he held a “friendraiser” at Cigar Inn in New York.  (He didn’t expect contributions since he is a billionaire.)  According to midtown store manager Geshon Sakha:

  “He enjoys a cigar every now and then,” Mr. Sakha said of the candidate, who frequents the uptown location. “He comes with his friends Saturday morning after breakfast. He smokes a few different brands—sometimes Davidoff, sometimes Padrón and sometimes the house blend.”

Despite the beleaguered-minority role cigar smokers and the emporiums that service them project—”He will abolish the Nanny State,” Mr. Sakha vowed of Mr. Catsimatidis.

Although the candidate himself was a bit more circumspect.  He even refused to smoke a cigar because “there was a reporter from the Wall Street Journal” in attendance.  The reporter from the Wall Street Journal, however, was impressed with our culture.

Say what you will about cigars and cigar bars, but they may be among the few places in New York—a city, despite what anyone contends, that indulges elites and that traffics in exclusivity—where you’re accepted, whether hedge-fund manager or handyman, simply because you possess the intellectual gifts to enjoy cigars.

The other person running for mayor on the republican side Joe Lhota has famed cigar smoker Rudy Giuliani in his corner.

Mahogany goes Ashton

Philadelphia is getting a new/old cigar bar on Thursday.  The Ashton Cigar Bar opens right above Holt’s store in Center City at 1522 Walnut.  The locale was the home to Mahogany since 1997, but Holt’s decided it would be better for them to own the joint. So Holt’s and Ashton’s owners –Robbie Levin, his son Sathya and daughter Meera — will be running the place. After some remodeling, the new Ashton Cigar Bar will debut with the feel of a luxury cigar bar and of course will carry the Ashton, Ashton Aged Maduro, Ashton Cabinet and the Ashton VSG  among others, but according to the Phildelphia Business Journal it will have a few new wrinkles:

In addition to a wide range of cigars, it will have more than 200 whiskeys and signature cocktails. The space is outfitted with plush lounge chairs, flat-screen televisions and a state-of-the-art air purification system.

“We’ve taken significant steps to make all of our guests feel welcome, even those who may not have ever set foot in a cigar bar before,” said Levin. “Our customized air purification system comes from the same manufacturer that provides systems for many of the country’s top hospitals and casinos. Our goal is to keep the air crisp and clean at all times.”

Sathya and Meera are the third generation in the family business.

Disney to Drop Sosa

By the end of the month, Downtown Disney will be closing its only cigar shop.  Fuego by Sosa Cigars has been a mainstay of the area for many years.  I have never visited the place because of my aversion to The Mouse.  (Yeah, I worked briefly for Disney through one of its tentacles.)  But lots of people are upset that Fuego is going away because it offered an adult oasis in the Disney universe where you could get an adult beverage and smoke a cigar. (Given Florida’s nutty smoking laws this is a great thing.)

The official reason is that Disney is doing a remodel of Downtown Disney and as a result the company is not renewing the lease of the store.  There is a petition to fight the move.  You can go here to sign it.

A House is Not a Home

My House in Winter

Ocean City

A house is not a home, but today I am feeling a bit out of sorts.  You see the two homes pictured above were my homes for a good part of my life.  As a T-V guy, I mostly lived in apartments and moved around a bit…a lot actually.  The Ocean City home was my grandparents who bought it in 1957 and we would stay there every summer..  It stayed in the family until 2006 (49 years) when we sold it to help pay for my mother’s medical care.  A developer bought it and leveled it and put up two huge two story condos.  Alas, Ocean City is not now I remember it anymore.  Too many people and with the big structures no breeze from the ocean.  You need air conditioners now, before we never needed them even three blocks from the ocean.

The one on the left was the first home I actually bought in 1985.  It was built in the 20s and while it had its problems, it was home to me and my family.  Pets who lived and died there and my lovely wife who decided we needed more room and were tired of the Mc Mansions going up on our block.  We sold the house in July having moved across town.  Yes the old place was a bit drafty at times, needed work but it was a home.  Today I drove past and saw that the developer who bought it has made it no more.  Pity.

all that remains

Another two story Mc Mansion will arise.  The thing is our old neighborhood was a “conservation district” to prevent or limit this type of thing.  What ended up happening was that WE would have had to stick to strict guidelines if we wanted to fix our house..but the developers get a pass.  Another brilliant government solution.   Progress is great, but sometimes it stinks.

We have talked a lot about the big manufacturers but there are others who while known are still growing.  Take Boutique Blends for example.  The company has a bit of an identity crisis. Many people are not sure of Boutique Blends, but do know of Oliveros.  Rafael Nodal and his partner Hank Bischoff started the company  in February 2002.  When the company started it was to distribute Oliveros, but about  two and a half years ago.  They started with SWAG and then they came out with Aging Room.  They have evolved from Oliveros into Boutique Blends because according to Rafael, they is more what they do…make small batches of cigars.  They take terrific tobaccos and make small batches of cigars.  How many?  Well it all depends on the size of the cigars each blend has…bigger cigars mean fewer available as the use more of the tobacco.

This year at the show, the company released its  Aging Room M-21 Fortissimo, a 5.75”x 47 Salomon.  The Fortissimo is limited, there are only 3,000 boxes of 10 being made with a retail price of right around $13.  The company is adding to its Aging Room line with a new Maduro, which will come in 5 sizes; Presto 4.5” x 48, Rondo 5”x 50, Mazzo 6”x 54, Major 6.5” x 60 and Alto 7” x 47.  They run from about $7.75 to $9.  If you notice some music terms for the names, Nodal was a classically trained violinist in Cuba and came to New York at age 15 during the Mariel Boat lift to study at the Manhattan School of Music.

The other new thing from Boutique is the Wild Pack.  This pack has 5 different blends which eventually will be added to the Aging Room line.  Nodal says  the 6” x 50 cigars will each have a number and he wants feedback from smokers as to which one they prefer.  The winner becomes the next Aging Room release.  Cost for the Wild Pack is $96.

PDR

Abe Flores is a small guy too, but he is very busy.  Not only does he have his own line of cigars PDR, but he is also creating new blends for others as well.  He makes the highly rated, La Palina Classic for that company. His own PDR line includes blends like the PDR Small Batch Reserve.  This year, Abe added a maduro, the PDR AFR 75 Edicion Limitada.  It uses a dark San Andres Maduro wrapper over a Criollo 98 binder grown in Nicaragua and Dominican Habano, Connecticut Broadleaf and Nicaraguan Criollo 98 fillers.  The AFR-75 comes in three sizes, Sublime at 5”  56, Edmundo  at 6” x 58 and the Inmenso at 7” x 60.  They are priced at $14.75, $15.75 and $16.75 respectively.

The other new cigar from PDR is  the A. Flores Gran Reserva 1975 Corojo 2006.  The wrapper if a 2006 Criollo grown in the Dominican Republic, the binder is Dominican Olor and the fillers are Dominican Corojo and Nicaraguan Habano.The Gran Reserva comes in three sizes, a half corona at 3.5” x 46, Robusto at 5”x 52 and a Grand Toro at 6” x 54.  The half corona retails for about $5 and besides coming in moxes of 50, it also comes in tins of 5.  The Robusto goes for $12.35 and the Grand Toro is $14.10.

Bloomberg loses but keeps trying

By now you have undoubtedly heard about our favorite nanny—Michael Bloomberg—who lost his Big Gulp fight.  Yup a second court ruled he overreached in trying to get his health department to ban big sodas in restaurants and some other venues.  The appeallate court ruled unanimously that hizzonor went way over the line in trying to ban the drinks ”for the health of the kids”, just like smoking.  Unlike the smoking ban, where the City Council agreed with the moron, err mayor, this time the council did not have a say and Bloomberg acted on his own.  The courts have ruled that this not only violates separation of powers but would eviscerate it.

Bloomberg says he is going to appeal…BUT since he will be soon out of office it may be up to his successor to continue or drop the appeal.  Nice to see New York has so much money it can afford to waste it on appeals of stupid laws.  If only we could get something on the smoking ban.

By the way, you may not have seen the nanny’s latest declaration of war.  It is on elevators and escalators.  It is like the Nazis, they started with something “everyone” thought was evil and continued working their way up.  Bloomberg started targeting smokers, then trans fat, then salt, then sugary drinks and now the Otis creation.  (When will New Yorkers wake up?)

The city is proposing new legislation that all new buildings and any under renovation would be required to give the occupants access to at least one stairwell. Never mind the security concerns.  The buildings would also have to post signs near elevators pointing to near-by stairs.  Another bill would permit the use of hold-open devices for the stairwells.   Since denial isn’t only a river in Egypt, Bloomberg says all his panderings are actually improving the city.

“Somebody asked me the other day: ‘Well isn’t all this nanny … stuff hurting business?’ And I pointed out we had a record number of companies moving here, we had record-number of private sector jobs here, we had record-number of tourists.”

Uh huh…and I have a bridge for you.

Cohiba is a name in cigars that is well known.  Like most Cuban brands the mark has two owners… the Cuban Cohiba and the Dominican version made by General Cigar since the early 1980s.  General Cigar trademarked the Cohiba name back in the 80s, but Cuba has been fighting that for the past 16 years.  Cuba has been losing the fight, but General Cigars has to keep defending itself.  The latest win for General was late last week when the US Trademark Trial and Appeals Board basically threw out Cuba’s claim with prejudice ( meaning they cannot refile).   According to the news release:

The TTAB ruled that because the federal courts have held that Cubatabaco may not sell Cohiba cigars in the U.S. or acquire any interest in the Cohiba mark, Cubatabaco lacks any property interest in the Cohiba mark.  Cubatabaco therefore has no standing to challenge General Cigar’s registrations of the Cohiba mark.

General Cigar’s President Dan Carr said, “This ruling once again affirms what we have believed all along: That Cubatabaco has no merit in challenging General Cigar’s ownership of the Cohiba trademark in the United States.”

Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

Ever wonder about the wisdom of banning smoking in casinos?  A couple of years ago, Atlantic City tried to outlaw smoking in all casinos. The ordinance lasted about a week and was immediately repealed after the casinos lost a ton of money.

But aren’t we always told that non smokers would flock to anyplace that banned the evil weed and the money would flow. (Restaurants, Bars, Casinos) I know this to be a crock.  Back in the 90s, I was working for Hollywood Casino which, at the time, owned the Sands Casino in Atlantic City.  As a forward-looking experiment, the Sands opened a second floor casino that was totally non-smoking.   Hollywood wanted to see if the whole non smoking thing was true. Alas it wasn’t.  We were shooting a video at the casino and were able to use the whole second floor as a studio because it was completely free of gamblers….nobody wanted to play there. The experiment did not last very long as the casino brought back smoking to the second floor and the gamblers returned.

Which brings us up to today.  Revel Atlantic City was supposed to be the dream casino.  Huge, on the beach it was an upscale place and it opened almost a year ago.  Oh and one more thing, it was sooo cool the owners decreed Revel would be SMOKE FREE.  No nasty smokers anywhere around the place so everyone could breathe easier and the gamblers would flock in. Not so much.  Revel is in bankruptcy court with  1.5 billion dollar debt.  So as the company works its way back out, one of the first thing it is doing is to open up smoking on the casino floor.

Guess those high end non smokers never came. They will keep trying though.

Bloomberg keeps on giving

When we reported on Bloomie’s latest stunt for putting cigarettes out of sight and setting up a new enforcement program two weeks ago, we seemed to have missed something.  Buried inside the legislation is a mandate that sets a minimum price for cigarettes and cigarillos of $10.50 per pack.  Hummm…wonder what that minimum pricing will do?  Oh yeah continue to have New York lead in counterfeit and bootlegged smokes  as we earlier reported NYC is already number 1 in that regard (about 61% of all sold cigarettes in New York are bootlegged or counterfeit), guess Bloomie wants to keep that record going.

Jay Z smokin

We already know cigars are popular with some musical artists.  As we reported back in February, Pete Johnson of Tatuaje fame went on the South American tour with the Jonas Brothers (all of whom are legal to smoke and happen to like cigars)  Pete’s job was to keep them supplied with their favorite Tats…smokes that is.  Well now comes word that Jay Z is going to step it up a bit.  The Rapper is going on tour this summer with Justin Timberlake and in the contract for the concerts is a rider specifying a gentleman’s club will be set up back stage….it will be a place where Jay Z’s personal cigar roller can work unimpeded.  Yup Jay Z will have his own roller. This according to the British tabloid the Sun

“Jay met this cigar expert at a friend’s private party recently. He had been hired to roll cigars for guests in a smoking room,” a source in the rap star’s camp told the tabloid. “They were chatting for ages about the origins of tobacco and all the different types and then Jay-Z offered to have him on board for the tour dates. It goes well with the nature of the tour where there’s going to be a lot of whiskey and cigars.”

And Justin Timberlake’s new single Suit & Tie which was done in collaboration with Jay Z  has a the video showing cigars and whiskey flowing freely.  Should be a fun tour.

Bye Duke

Ya know it sucks having older dogs and today our home is a lot emptier.  Last fall,  we had to put Jake down and Monday it was Duke.  It was a tough call on Duke because he had been frail and probably in some pain for a while, but when he didn’t want to go for a walk, we knew it was time.  We never knew just how old Duke was.

We got him in a rescue situation where a vet called us to say that he had been dropped off by his owners and since they were going on vacation they did not want to board him so they were asking for him to be put to sleep.  We immediately went up to that vet and picked Duke up and brought him home.  He was within an hour of being put down and that was 8 years ago.  He had bad hips ever since we got him but over the past few months they were getting worse.  He had trouble sometimes standing, yet other times when on a walk his tail wagged and he had a ball.  I hate judgement calls like this but I think he was trying to tell us, it was time– of course he always wanted to please.

He had a good life but still it does not make it any easier.  He was a great dog and I miss him.

CAO Brazilia Carnivale

CAO has had the Brazilia line for a while, but now they are getting into the bigger ring gauges with the addition of the Carnivale.  It is a 6.5”x 60 box pressed cigar being introduced now in a limited quantity. Carnivale differs from the usual Brazilia in that the wrapper is not Brazilian, this time it is the binder.  The fillers are ligeros from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua and the wrapper is Habano Grueso which is grown in very small quantities, which is why the cigar is limited.

Ricky Rodriguez heads up the blending for CAO and he said:

“We haven’t changed any CAO blends since we took over the brand. But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t put our spin on one of them. That’s exactly what we did with Carnivale…it’s my and my team’s take on Brazilia. We added a new wrapper, made the original wrapper the binder, and cranked the whole thing up with more ligero.”

The Carnival comes in a bright yellow box with 12 cigars and a suggested retail price of $8.30 each.  Rick also hinted, according to the release, that the CAO team may be making tweaks to other CAO lines in the future. Stay Tuned.

Be a Blender

Speaking of CAO, the company about a year or so ago, gave consumers the chance to pick a blend.  The company offered a sample with three cigars only designated with the letters C, A, and O.  The idea was for you to smoke them and then report back on which blend you liked.  I forget which one won…but this concept of having actual cigar smokers trying out blends it still going strong.

Today, MATASA –  makers of the Quesada and Fonseca lines – have out a sampler which contains 8 cigars…6 of which are on the market and two samples of a test blend.  The Quesada family wants smokers to try them and let them know how the samples stack up against their other blends ( the Jalapa, the España and Tributo blends.)  If enough people like the samples, they will go into production.

Rafael Nodal of Boutique Blends Cigars is going one step further.  Nodal, who passed through town last week and is known for SWAG and Aging Room cigars, is planning on releasing what he calls the “Wild Pack” in June.  Nodal released the Aging Room M 356 in 2011.  The way that blend happened was that he and his partners (Jochy Blanco and Hank Bishoff) were originally looking for a blend for SWAG when they happened on this one.  They loved it, but the next day, Jochy said there was not enough of that tobacco for a major release.  A bunch of the cigars using the blend were made and then just kept in the Aging Room at the factory.  When people came to visit, they would always ask Rafael what he was smoking and he’d say get a cigar from The Aging Room…hence the name.  The number M-356 is the blend, made on a Monday on the 356^th day of the year.

At any rate, Rafael had the idea to play with other limited tobaccos for new Aging Room blends.  Last year was the Quattro F55 (it was made on a Friday) and this year it will be the M 21.  But the Wild Pack will be 5 different blends—all for Aging Room.  They were the finalists and Nodal wants the customers to decide which one should be released next.  (Probably late this year or early next whenever the M-351 finally runs out.)  He will be putting up his tasting sheet on the net and ask smokers to evaluate the 5 cigars and pick which one they like best.  So if you’ve ever wanted to help pick a blend, this is your chance.  Look for the Wild Pack around June.

Good News

The IPCPR has been busy on many state fronts and their latest victory is in Arkansas. Right now, Arkansas had a tax of 68% of wholesale cost for cigars which meant a $10 cigar becomes almost $17.  But thanks to the hard work of the state’s retailers, the IPCPR and the Cigar Association of America the new tax will cap out at 50 cents per cigar. A much better rate for consumers.  The legislation passed the state house 87 to 1 and just passed the state senate 34-0. The Governor signed the bill this morning and it goes effect October first.  Congrats to all.

Meanwhile

Bloomberg just keeps stepping in it.  On the Sunday shows apparently the Mayor proved he never read the Constitution, or if he did he did not understand it.  In talking about his soda ban hizzonor said:

“I do think there are certain times we should infringe on your freedom,” Mr. Bloomberg said, during an appearance on NBC.

 This guy really is a moron. But an even bigger moron exists…

Meet California freshman assemblyman Marc Levine from San Rafael.  He has introduced legislation that would CRIMINALIZE someone smoking in his or her home. This was too much even for Santa Monica, where the city council voted to oppose this nonsense.

Assembly Bill 746, which would, as City staff phrased it, prohibit smoking in all indoor areas of multi-family dwellings, including within the units of existing tenants otherwise protected by rent control and/or other local housing security and stability measures.

Non-compliance with the smoking prohibition would make smokers subject to eviction.

Nice make someone a criminal AND homeless all in one fell swoop.  No wonder even Santa Monica could not take this.  Of course being Kalifornia, the Santa Monica opposition was only to the bill as written.  If it is amended to provide more protections for renters they could change their opposition.

Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids takes aim at cigars and FDA control over them.  In a report out last week called Not Your Grandfather’s Cigar, the antis are pushing for FDA control over cigars.

The group said sales of cigars have gone from 6 billion to more than 13 billion over the past 12 years and –shock—it’s the kids who are smoking.  The report says:

“cheap, flavored, small cigars that appeal to young people are marketed aggressively and have resulted in high school kids and young adults being twice as likely as their older counterparts to be cigar smokers.”

Here is how they play the game.  It should be noted it is ILLEGAL for most high school kids to BUY tobacco, a young adult would be over 18 and legal to smoke but it doesn’t matter.

But you think oh they are after Swisher Sweets   or other machine made cigars so not to worry.  Well think again, because they do not differentiate.  The report further says:

“Given their success in marketing their products to kids and young adults, it is not surprising that some in the cigar industry are aggressively pressuring Congress to exempt them from any regulation by the FDA. No tobacco product should be exempt from regulation. ” (emphasis mine)

This means it is even more important for you to get involved.  Last session of Congress we got a majority of co-sponsors for the legislation to exempt premium cigars from the FDA’s clutches.  Now with a new session we have to start all over again.  HR 792 does just that.  But we need pressure on Congressment and Senators to sign up.  You can go to the Cigar Rights of America’s web site and send a message to YOUR Congressman.  Please do it NOW.

 Bloomberg Doesn’t Give Up

Well even though Mayor Bloomberg lost big last week (the mummies who had heart disease long before tobacco, fast food and big sodas) and the court knocking down his big soda ban, it doesn’t mean our boy  is lightening up.  Nope, now the king of New York City decided to come after tobacco again.  Of course Bloomberg said it is for the kids…give me a break.

The legislation would require stores to keep tobacco products in cabinets, drawers, under the counter, behind a curtain or in other concealed spots. They could only be visible when an adult is making a purchase or during restocking.

The legislation, for now, exempts cigar shops…but we know how THAT goes…give them an inch… besides isn’t it ALREADY illegal for kids to buy any types of smokes?  But you know once the 7-Elevens, drug stores and bodegas in NYC are covered it won’t be long before it would be expanded to the handful of cigar shops that are left.  Trouble is like most things they think up it doesn’t work.  Canada has had a display ban in parts of the country since 2002.  According to a paper by the Institute of Economic Affairs the policy has been “ruinous”.  The study says::

The display legislation will be sent to city council on Wednesday along with the  “Sensible Tobacco Enforcement” proposal.  The idea is to strengthen enforcement of discounted and smuggled cigarettes. You see New York is number one in cigarette smuggling.

A recent study by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy  showed why.

High excise taxes on cigarettes and tobacco lead to unintended consequences.

 Nearly 61 percent of all cigarette consumption in New York in 2011 was contraband.  It’s no surprise given that New York has the highest state levy at $4.35 a pack. But wait, there’s more.   Bloomberg adds yet another tax of  $1.50 per pack for the city making the total $5.85 in tax alone.

In addition to increased smuggling with higher taxes there has been a rise in thefts, hijackings of trucks carrying cigarettes, counterfeiting both tax stamps and cigarettes and violence against people and property which are very real consequences from the cigarette tax hikes.

“People don’t realize the degree to which government induces illegal and dangerous activity with bad policy,” said Michael LaFaive, director of the Mackinac Center’s Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative. “In this case, individuals cross borders for personal smokes and an organized, criminal class brings in contraband cigarettes by the van full.”

“Despite the best intentions by people who want to increase revenue or promote public health programs, [tax increases] are probably not having the positive impact they think they are having — and at the same time, they are creating costs and problems,” he concluded. “Officials need to ask themselves if a tax hike is worth it.”

In Bloomberg’s world everything that takes away liberties is worth it.

Last week, CAO sent a cigar lover on a cruise with Kid Rock for his annual “Chillin’ The Most” cruise. The contest was part of the kick off for the CAO Concert line of cigars. Justin Harris of Nashville won the cruise which included a CAO branded cigar lounge aboart the Norweigian Pearl cruise ship.  CAO blender Rick Rodriguez also was on board.  Said Ed McKenna the senior brand manager for CAO,

“Kid Rock’s ‘Chillin’ The Most’ is the ultimate expression of our brand.  It’s also a fitting way to celebrate the success of CAO Concert, which gives a nod to our rock n roll roots.”

Justin cruised the Bahanas getting back to port, and most likely reality, on Sunday.

Bloomie Loses

Bloomie (from Huff Post)

You may have already heard about part of this but this has been was a bad week for the nation’s top nanny.  Bloomie boy got shellacked in court and in a science paper.  First up,  a state judge stopped Bloomberg’s ban on 16 ounce sodas.  Yippee. The decision is a huge blow to the mayor’s efforts to control possibly every second of New Yorker’s lives and it came one day before the ban was to go into effect.   Said the judge, New York is “enjoined and permanently restrained from implementing or enforcing the new regulations”.  Why? Because he further said, “The Rule is nevertheless fraught with arbitrary and capricious consequences…the loopholes in this Rule effectively defeat the stated purpose.”

Gee a Bloomie health department rule that is arbitrary?  Who would have thunk it.  The NYC ban on big sodas excluded some places ( 7-Elevens ) and some drinks with more sugar ( milk shakes, lattes, frozen coffees etc.).  Oh and for all its good sounding BS, the rule never did address free refills.  The rule was strictly a nanny PR stunt.

The judge further said that the health board was basically trying to have virtually limitless authority.  The city’s arguments in favor of the soda cap would leave the board’s “authority to define, create, mandate and enforce limited only by its own imagination.”  That was the Mayor’s idea.  Of course the city wll appeal this common sense ruling most likely the challenge will continue long after Bloomberg is gone.

Science Fact

But if that wasn’t bad enough for Bloomie, the Lancet published a study this week showing that ancient mummies had clogged arteries….you know arteries we have been told that are clogged by fast food, sugary drinks and smoking.  Oh wait…ANCIENT mummies…4,000 years ago, way before all that stuff was invented.  Bloomie’s whole raison d’etat just went up in …hehehe…smoke:

Researchers say that suggests heart disease may be more a natural part of human aging rather than being directly tied to contemporary risk factors like smoking, eating fatty foods and not exercising.

Wait what?  SMOKING IS NOT the cause? Maybe it is time to look to something else rather than tobacco!

“Heart disease has been stalking mankind for over 4,000 years all over the globe,” said Dr. Randall Thompson, a cardiologist at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City and the paper’s lead author.

Thompson said he was surprised to see hardened arteries even in people like the ancient Aleutians who were presumed to have a healthy lifestyle as hunter-gatherers.

“I think it’s fair to say people should feel less guilty about getting heart disease in modern times,” he said. “We may have oversold the idea that a healthy lifestyle can completely eliminate your risk.”

Mayor Bloomberg….you listening?   (Of course not.)