Tobacco Product Excise Tax Rates as of June 1, 2010. Thanks to the IPCPR for the updated list. Ohhhh…. the brutality!!! Click on the image for a .pdf version.
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The Padrón Way: Honesty, Seriousness, Humility
July 21, 2010
The Padrón Jingle, Joseito: El Martillito
By: The Armando Tam Project
2:41 – 3:14
“We appreciate Armando Tam and Carlos Ramirez and there musical group for having dedicated this song to the Padrón family.
When I used this hammer starting the Padrón factory in 1964, I always had in mind to implement these three values: honesty, seriousness, and humility.
After so many years, those three principles continue to be as valid as on our first day.
I hope you will continue to enjoy the quality and traditions of the Padrón family’s cigars for many years to come.”
- José Orlando Padrón
7.2010
The Padrón Jingle, Joseito: El Martillito
By: The Armando Tam Project
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Banning Outdoor Smoking
July 16, 2010
Currently, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of NYC, the billionaire who changed the law to stay in office for a third term, is trying to ban outdoor smoking in New York City parks and beaches. This has nothing to do with health, but rather believing that ‘children should not have to see smokers’ and further demonizing and de-normalizing smokers and tobacco. The Nanny State is in overdrive …. read the IPCPR alert below about the town of Denville, NJ …. if you smoke outdoors in Denville, you can be imprisoned… (yes, Denville, NJ is in America, land of the free…)
Denville, New Jersey July 15, 2010– The International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association believes the recently enacted smoking ban in Denville, New Jersey is ‘over the top’ because, among other reasons, it could land errant smokers in jail.
The Denville town council earlier this week enacted an anti-smoking ordinance which is effective August 10 and will include parking lots, bleachers, playgrounds and adjoining sidewalks among the prohibited locations. A fine of up to $100 or up to two days of community service will be applied to first-time offenders which second-time offenders could face up to a $250 fine or five days of community service.
According to the ordinance, third time offenders will face up to a $500 fine or community service of at least 10 days or any combination of fine, imprisonment and community service determined by the municipal court.
The ordinance applies to cigars, cigarettes, pipes, ‘or any other matter or substance which contains tobacco.’
“This is over the top as far as abuse of individual rights goes,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR. “Yes, many municipalities have banned smoking on city properties, but few equal the onerous penalties implied with Denville’s ban.”
McCalla wondered what the council’s motivation was.
“It can’t be claims of littering, because there are laws against littering and it doesn’t make sense to clutter the codes with more unenforced laws. It certainly can’t be related to secondhand smoke, because it has been proven that there are, indeed, safe levels of secondhand smoke as established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of Labor, especially outdoors,” he said.
“We can only assume that the council has been duped by anti-smoking forces who use unscientific and often false claims to support their outlandish allegations.”
McCalla said that property owners – even cities – have the right to decide whether or not to allow or ban smoking on their properties. However, sentences of high fines, community service and even jail are ‘going too far.’
“There are other, more serious infractions of existing laws that don’t come near to the levels of penalties that could be applied to smoking ban offenders. That’s going too far. The council members have taken far too much power into their hands in an effort to legislate the behavior of their constituents,” McCalla said.
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Contact: Tony Tortorici
678-493-0313
tony@tortoricipr.com
Fighting For Our Livelihood In NYC
June 19, 2010
The New York Tobacconists Association is fighting to preserve our industry. If NY State gets their 90% OTP tax, retail tobacconists will be exterminated. Visit Cigar Rights of America and make your voice heard!
American Cancer Society Exposed
June 4, 2010
My mother’s father died of cancer when she was six. When I was eleven years old the only grandfather I knew died of cancer. I remember he spent the last year of his life drinking his meals - that consisted of steak, black beans and rice put in a blender and consumed through a straw. It was a terrible loss for me since we were very close and I vowed to spend the rest of my life “fighting” cancer. I gave money and time to the cancer society/charities throughout my teens and twenties. Eventually I learned that cancer is a natural (albeit horrific) mutation of cells that will occur in almost every person, given enough time.
As a retail tobacconist in my twenties I started fighting the emergence of smoking bans during the late 1990s. It quickly became clear to me that much of the impetus behind this legislation was guided, promoted and even written by organizations like the American Cancer Society and pharmaceutical firms. With every passing year I have been astonished at the level of influence these organizations and companies exert. I have become disillusioned with their supposed ‘philanthropic’ agenda, to say the least. While I don’t doubt that there are many well-intentioned individuals working in these organizations, I fear that their mission has been corrupted. Like all mature bureaucracies and institutions, they tend to focus more on increasing their budgets, power, and status rather than their original good intentions.
-ACS spends over 400 Million Dollars on Salaries per year.
-Only 16% or less of all money raised is spent on direct services to cancer victims.
-For every $1 spent on direct service, $6.40 is spent on compensation and overhead.
“People should understand that through our contributions to what we thought was curing and preventing cancer, we have created the world’s wealthiest “nonprofit” institution…. The American Cancer Society is a complete failure in the fight against cancer and it serves as a place for many to become rich at the patients expense. They are now trying to destroy the New York State economy by putting so many retail shops out of business and this is just not acceptable coming from an organization that diverts hundreds of millions of dollars away from where it is supposed to be spent. There are many other places to donate money and get the dollars in the hands of people who are on the front lines of developing cures, treatment and prevention of cancer.” – David M. Schwartz, Esq.
“ACS is more concerned with accumulating wealth than saving lives.” – Dr. Samuel Epstein, former chair of the Congressional Committee on Cancer
Proof Of Lies
May 24, 2010
The Surgeon General said there ‘is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke’, and suddenly smoking bans spread around the globe. But, this statement defies logic and the fact that the dose makes the poison. This is true in epidemiology, science, and medicine; it always has been and always will be. That is why you can consume pesticides, hormones, and harmful pharmaceuticals in your food, water, and consumer products and still survive. The dose makes the poison.
The Surgeon General, EPA, FDA and every government, and every non-governmental agency that has promoted smoking bans has lied to you. In fact, a quiet street has five times more carbon monoxide than a smoky bar, and there is absolutely no significant evidence showing that second hand smoke causes lung cancer (and there have been plenty of studies). In fact, you should be more worried about the fumes you inhale on the street than the aroma of tobacco. We all know that you can run a hose from your car exhaust into the vehicle and be dead in a few minutes. Yet, I have spent countless hours in cars in Nicaragua with the windows rolled up (to avoid the dust) and inhaled 2,3, and 4 people’s cigar smoke. The gentleman in the picture has been doing that for decades and he is 83! The fact is, we have been lied to and our entire society has been re-engineered to treat smokers like second class citizens because of second hand smoke.
Stay tuned for TU content on health and epidemiology…. and join our facebook and twitter communities where we promote real science every day.
If you’re angry because your government, big-business, and your legislators lied to you, join Cigar Rights of America and fight back and Get Certified.
Fighting The NYC Ban
May 8, 2010
On May 4, 2010 the New York Tobacconists Association (NYTA) appeared before the NYC Board of Health to make their case for not banning flavored tobaccos: including cigar and pipe tobaccos, but not menthol, wintergreen, and mint flavorings – typical hypocritical exclusion of ‘big tobacco’ products, just like the FDA law. This ridiculous law was written, probably with great assistance from the heart, lung, and cancer societies, in order to ‘protect children’: even though it is already illegal to sell tobacco products to children. While the Board of Health has already written the law, and it has been passed by the city council, there is still a chance to protect tobacconists from this devastating and draconian law. Impassioned and articulate speeches were delivered by Ron Melendi, CMT, Michael Herklots, CMT, Jorge Armenteros, CMT (me), representatives of Gotham Government Relations (who represent the NYTA), and others. While it is too early to tell if we are making significant progress, there is a chance we can keep the Board from enforcing this ridiculous law inside of retail tobacconists. If this law passes and is enforced in NYC it will spread throughout the nation, so it is a critical fight for all tobacconists. This is the fight of our lives because the ‘Empire State’ is ground zero for the Nanny State in America, and whatever passes in NY will surely follow everywhere else.
FYI: View the article about the meeting by Greg Mottola of Cigar Aficionado, and the text of my speech is below…
NYC Health Committee: 5.4.2010
3rd Floor, Rm 330
125 Worth St. (b/w Lafayette & Centre)
New York, NY 10013
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. My name is Jorge Armenteros and I am the president of Tobacconist University. We are the organization that educates and certifies consumers and professional tobacconists – just like a sommelier organization does for wine. We have over 350 Certified Tobacconists and apprentices around the world with the highest concentration of Certified Master Tobacconists right here in NYC. People come here from all over the world to visit these luxury goods specialists in the same way they come to visit great chefs and sommeliers…. The products we sell are rare and special.
As a retail tobacconist and one who represents hundreds of similarly honorable professionals, the most important thing I can tell you is that there is nothing more reprehensible to us than the thought or act of selling tobacco to children. The first line of our code of ethics & standards states that we will “obey and enforce all local, state and federal laws regarding tobacco age/use restrictions.”
Retail tobacconists, by and large, are small family run businesses, many with generations of traditions and important cultural history. We pay our mortgages, and raise and educate our children just like you. And the thought of selling tobacco products to children is despicable to us.
Tobacco
The next point I want to make is that there is a world of difference between mass produced, homogenized, and chemically enhanced cigarettes and the world of luxury, premium, and natural cigars and pipe tobaccos.
While it may take a few months to grow, dry, and manufacture a cigarette, it takes years to cultivate premium cigars and pipe tobaccos. We estimate that every one of the 6 to 8 leaves in a premium cigar is touched at least 300 times by human hands, and it can take up to ten years to make a premium cigar. Those 6 to 8 leaves are picked at different times, from different plants in different farms and countries. It is an extraordinary process that requires dozens, if not hundreds, of highly skilled and trained artisans to turn a rustic leaf into an organoleptic delicacy – a sensory pleasure. Premium cigars, pipes, and pipe tobaccos represent generations of knowledge, culture, and skill; much of which was already invented before Europeans discovered the new world.
Premium cigars and pipe tobaccos are curated like rare horticultural specimens. They are cultivated from seed varietals that have taken generations to breed and these varietals have very little in common with the plants that are used for cigarettes. It’s like the difference between a bicycle and a Rolls Royce…
From a chemical standpoint, cigarettes are acidic and they are meant to be inhaled into the lungs, whereas cigars are alkaline, which is not conducive to inhalation. By and large, cigar and pipe smokers do not inhale and this dramatically affects their relationship with the nicotine in the plant. (BTW nicotine is also found in tomatoes, green peppers, potatoes, and eggplant) The lung specific delivery method and concentration of nicotine, coupled with the instantaneous effects of inhalation, are what make cigarette smoking a potentially compulsive and/or addictive behavior. This is profoundly different than the effects of premium cigars and pipe tobaccos which are not inhaled. The average premium cigar smoker enjoys less than two cigars per week.
Premium cigars and pipe tobaccos are savored for their taste and aroma. Cigar and pipe smokers do not smoke when they have a stuffed up nose cold because that prohibits them from tasting the product – which is the purpose of the product. Taste and aroma, relaxation, camaraderie, celebration, and savoring your time: that is why people smoke cigars and pipes.
Taste
I can tell you that most days non-smokers come into our shops just to enjoy the aroma. They tell us about their fond memories of a father or relative who smoked, and sometimes buy an aromatic (i.e. flavored) pipe tobacco just to enjoy the smell in their home or car.
Smell is the human sense most closely linked to memory and emotion. Positive smells anchor fond memories and experiences; they relax us and help us decompress; they enhance the quality of our lives. People who like the smell of cigars and pipe tobaccos do so passionately – it is a quality of life issue. Conversely, those who dislike the smell of “tobacco” usually have a very strong and negative emotional response to it.
It is estimated that less than 5% of the population occasionally smokes pipes and cigars. We are a tiny minority, with unique tastes. But taste is by nature a personal preference. And as Thomas Jefferson said “taste cannot be controlled by law”. Taste is also something that cannot be measured or judged. Taste is subjective. People will like what they like. While you may enjoy clove or anise in your food, I do not. But I respect your taste, and I humbly ask that you respect and protect ours.
Thank you very much.
Enough Is Enough
April 19, 2010
Enough is enough! This afternoon I had the TV on and watched advertisements for herpes medication, some kind of condom and/or cream that heightens orgasms, men singing about erectile dis-function, and a clitoral stimulator; all of this on ‘normal’ TV that children can watch after they get home from school. But, of course you will never see any kind of ad for any kind of tobacco because that is illegal, ‘attractive to children’, and ‘bad for you’. Not that I’m against erections, sex, or medicine, but there is a time and place for everything, right?
Unfortunately, that is not the worst or most absurd part of my day. Tonight, the Brooksville City Council (near Tampa, FL) will consider an ordinance which will ban city employees from smoking or having any kind of nicotine in their system – yet, I’m not sure if those nannyists realize that nicotine is found in tomatoes and eggplants too! Regardless, this kind of anti-smoker and anti-tobacco bigotry is LEGAL! And that is SHAMEFUL! Undoubtedly, fat and/or other unhealthy people are next on the list for employment discrimination. And they wont be able to say they didn’t see it coming. We told you so! Remember, no one is free while others are oppressed!
“There is no such thing as a little freedom. Either you are all free, or you are not free.”
-Walter Cronkite
Sorry Mr. Cronkite, here is the new America….
CRA News Alerts: Get On Board, It’s Free!
April 13, 2010
Mandated healthcare, sugar taxes, soda taxes, salt bans, and more! The flood gates have been opened and the challenges continue to grow for those of us in the premium and luxury tobacco business. New York tobacconists continue to fight against the flavored tobacco ban while California is banning outdoor smoking in public parks and beaches. Sadly, retail tobacconists from Utah to the Carolinas are permanently closing their doors because the tax burdens have made our businesses impossible to continue. This bodes well for the mail order companies, but not consumers or hundreds of years of retail tobacconist culture, traditions, and history.
We need to step up our efforts to combat these threats and the CRA has just launched a free News Alert System to help us communicate and combat the exhaustive list of actions taking place at the local and state level. The anti-tobacconist movement will stop at nothing short of prohibition and our extinction. We must step up and fight for our survival! to that end, we need every person related to our industry to stay abreast of current threats. And the CRA Grassroots Network is the ultimate free way to stay informed and ready to defend our historic and special industry. Tell your relatives, employee’s relatives, and any other freedom loving people to subscribe! Just enter your email! It’s free and only takes seconds to submit your email. Even if you are not a CRA member, we need your help!
Click on the Cigar News Alerts button above and submit your email if you are not already a CRA member; its free! Tell your friends and relatives to subscribe; its free! And look for the News Alert button on our website as we battle to preserve our freedoms by making your voice heard!
PROCIGAR Festival 2010: Wrap Up
March 23, 2010
PRESS RELEASE
PROCIGAR FESTIVAL 2010
Santiago, Dominican Republic – Beginning on Sunday, February 14, 2010, leading cigar manufacturers and sponsors came together to kick off the third annual Procigar Festival to celebrate the Dominican Republic’s role as one of the world’s foremost tobacco producing countries.
Sponsored by world-renowned Dominican cigar producing companies, General Cigar, Matasa, Tabacalera de Garcia, La Aurora, Tabadom, and Tabaquisa, the 2010 Procigar Festival welcomed more than 200 guests representing more than 20 countries.
During the Festival, participants enjoyed guided tours of each sponsor company’s tobacco plantations and cigar making operations. In addition, the Festival also celebrated the rich culture of the island nation by treating guests to authentic Dominican cuisine, merengue music and visits to local cultural centers.
The festival began on February 14th in La Romana, Casa de Campo, where Jose Seijas from Tabacalera de Garcia welcomed the cigar lovers to the Dominican Republic. While in La Romana, guests participated in the third annual Procigar Golf Tournament at the legendary Teeth of the Dog golf course, one of two golf tournaments that took place during this year’s festival.
On Tuesday February 16th, Festival registration began in Santiago and on Wednesday February 17th the official activities of the festival started in the host city of Santiago de Los Caballeros. During the three-day itinerary, guests were treated to guided tours of Matasa, La Aurora, General Cigar and Davidoff factories, where attendees saw firsthand how their favorite cigars are produced. As a bonus, guests had the opportunity to enjoy lunch with executives and cigar makers from each sponsor company and participated of tastings, seminars, tobacco rolling experience and the launching of new cigars.
New for this year, each guest had the opportunity to select from one of five daily activities online to customize their itinerary before arriving. In addition to cigar factory and plantation tours, Procigar festival participants had the option to partake in activities including Presidente Beer, Brugal Rum, Karoma Coffee plantation, the Dominican Craftsmanship and City Tour or the Path of Chocolate tour. For the adventuresome, the Damajagua River Adventure featured a guided tour of Dominican waterfalls. In addition it was held a second golf tournament, which took place at Santiago’s Las Aromas golf course.
Also new for 2010, the Festival’s first-ever press conference was held at the Hodelpa Gran Almirante in Santiago with the participation of Hendrik Kelner, Manuel Quesada, Dan Carr, Guillermo Leon and Juan Clemente, followed by the seminar “Why Dominican Republic is Cigar Country”. A cigar blind tasting contest was made during this seminar ending with 7 lucky winners that received discounts and full paid trip for the 2011 Festival.
The welcome dinner was filled with Dominican culture featuring carnaval, Dominican cuisine and perico-ripiao music performed by “El Prodigio”. A dancing contest was made up again of festival participants, the finalist were again Arthur Zarestky, Michael Herklots and new on stage Thaddeus Bug, the latter took the crown earning the prize of selecting 100 cigars from any of the Procigar members cigar factories.
A gorgeous white dinner was offered at the Monumento a los Heroes de La Restauracion, which is the main symbolic building of Santiago, here the participants enjoyed a beautiful view of the city and a taste of a unique cigar, never to be repeated again, made with special tobaccos from all factories of Procigar. A silent auction was also held to benefit the sister country of Haiti. A fun after party continued after this dinner for those that did not want to end the night early.
The closing ceremony was held at a private club in Santiago called Centro Espanol. This year’s theme embraced the history of Santiago and celebrated the sights and sounds of Santiago in the early 1900’s. The evening culminated in a live auction of limited edition cigars and related items to benefit the Voluntariado de Jesus con los ninos (Non-Profit organization for ill children) and the Hospicio San Vicente de Paul de Santiago (retirement home for low income elders).
Gold Sponsors:
Hodelpa Gran Almirante, Presidente, American Airlines, Ferquido, Cigar Rings, Banco Popular, Intabaco, Fersan, Casa de Campo, Consejo Nacional de Zonas Francas de Exportacion, Vriijdag premium printing, Corporacion Zona Franca Industrial, Ayuntamiento Municipal de Santiago, Karoma.
Silver Sponsors:
Manne Tobacco Flavour, Editoria Premium, Brugal
Bronze Sponsors:
El Catador, Coca-Cola y Dasani, Golf Destinaire (Callaway), El Sendero del Cacao, CEI-RD, International Packaging, UPS, Direccion General de Aduanas, BME, Seguros BanReservas
Visit the TU Facebook page for Procigar 2010 Pictures & Video
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