Recently, as many of us know, the outdoor smoking ban passed by the City of New York awhile back finally took effect. And the response by many cigar companies, cigar rights advocates, and cigar consumers could not have been better. Just yesterday, Cigar Rights of America teamed up with La Palina Cigars to host an event at a private park to protest the institution of the law. Many consumers and cigar rights advocates took time out of their work days to go and show their support for the everyday smoker and to show their disapproval of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
I think the most important question is, what is honestly next? We are banning a substance that is legal under state and US laws each and every year more and more with the passage of extreme bills. Is there a risk when it comes to smoking? Absolutely. Is there some secondhand smoking risk? In extreme cases, sure. Are there more pressing issues and dangerous problems facing our politicians right now? I think the answer to that question is clearly yes. Every year, we hear about how certain aspects of secondhand smoke studies were flawed in some way, shape, or form. But elected officials continue to pass bills banning a substance that is legal and that is being attacked by flawed research. Who is to be held accountable?
Honestly, I think my biggest issue with this is the fact that cigars are lumped together with other forms of tobacco use. The cigar is more than just a tobacco product, to many it is an art form, a one-to-two hour escape from everyday life, a specific taste they appreciate, an aroma that you want to smell all the time, all of which are very different from other tobacco products. These smoking bans extend to all the different forms of smokeable tobacco, and that is only fair, but at least understand the differences between all of them. At least understand why people smoke cigars versus cigarettes, or pipes versus cigarettes, before you go lumping them all in as "Big Tobacco." This is stereotyping at its finest.
If we do not do something right now, we will see our right to smoke in any place, even our homes, completely taken away from us. The US and individual states around the country will successfully ban a legal substance as more and more of these smoking bans come around. Join Cigar Rights of America, talk to your local representatives, do something to show that there is more to cigar smoking than a bunch men sitting in a smoky back room plotting the takeover of the world. Show that the cigar smoker extends to all races, genders, religions, and even ages.
Mike
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