Stogie Guys Friday Sampler No. 271
6 Jan 2012
As we have since July 2006, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. Below is our latest Friday Sampler.
1) The Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative, a nonprofit funded by left-leaning foundations, is calling for a 333% increase in state excise htaxes on premium cigars and other non-cigarette tobacco products. The same group helped push an alcohol tax increase through the General Assembly in the previous legislative session. But the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) is vowing to help defeat the proposal. “Maryland voters are sick of increased taxes disguised to obscure government over-spending and they are tired of being told what to do and how to behave,” said Bill Spann, CEO of IPCPR.
2) In last month’s “Question of the Month,†we asked readers how regularly they light up a premium handmade cigar. “A couple each week†topped the poll with 31% of the vote, followed by “just a few each month†(23%), “almost daily†(20%), “at least every day†(13%), and “two or more cigars every day†(13%). Be sure to weigh in on this month’s question by voting in the sidebar to the right. And feel free to contact us if you’ve got suggestion for a future poll.
3) Around the Blogs: Top cigar lists for 2011 continue at Cigar Fan, Stogie Review, Nice Tight Ash, Cigar Brief, and Cigar Inspector.
4) Deal of the Week: This New Years Resolution sampler features 10 cigars for $35. Included are five Rocky Patel Sun Grown Torpedos and five House Resolution Torpedos, a new cigar made by JC Newman that was named in honor of the bill to protect cigars from FDA control.
photo credit: Flickr
Patrick Ashby
Co-Founder & Editor in Chief
Patrick Semmens
Co-Founder & Publisher
George Edmonson
Tampa Bureau Chief
I lived in Maryland for years and my wife was then a cigarette smoker. Every few weeks, we'd just drive a few miles over to Virginia and buy a carton or two. And this was long before the state's big tax increase a few years back. I'm sure the trek is even more common now. And if Maryland increases cigar taxes, the drive to Pennsylvania will likely become nearly as popular. In such a small state, it's tough to use taxes at the point of sale as a weapon. I'm reminded of the mid-1980s when the federal government tied highway funds to the 21-year-old drinking age and Vermont didn't go along for a couple of years. Kids flocked to the Green Mountain State to get hammered, which obviously increased drunk driving.