The Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

This limited edition version of Pete Johnson’s El Triunfador is made for Seattle-based J&J Cigars. The corona especial (bottom) is an inch and a half shorter than the original Triunfador lancero (top) and, depending on your source, is either the exact same or a slight variation of the original blend. It features coffee and strong cedar notes in a full-bodied, well-constructed smoke. No matter the particulars of the blend, it certainly is very similar in flavor to the lancero;  that’s not an unfavorable comparison since the original is a most enjoyable smoke.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Cigar smokers interested in the politicized (and often outright phony) “science” that anti-tobacco activists use to fuel their push for expanded smoking bans, higher tobacco taxes, and more burdensome regulation of tobacco products should make Dr. Michael Siegel’s Tobacco Analysis blog a daily read.

Dr. Siegel is a professor at Boston University’s School of Public Health with over 25 years of experience in the field of tobacco control, much of it advocating workplace smoking bans. However, in recent years, Dr. Siegel has spent his time debunking exaggerated claims put forth by anti-tobacco zealots.

As part of his work, Dr. Siegel documented the ten worst lies of 2010. The entire list is well worth a read. Especially noteworthy is the top “lie of the year” by the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office:

The Lie: (1) “Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause cardiovascular disease and could trigger acute cardiac events, such as heart attack.”; (2) “Inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can also damage your DNA, which can lead to cancer.”

The Rest of the Story: It is simply not true that even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause cardiovascular disease. Luckily, it takes many years of exposure before the process of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) can occur. Fortunately as well, inhaling the smallest amount of tobacco smoke does not lead to cancer. While the Surgeon General is correct in asserting that the tiniest amount of tobacco smoke can damage your DNA, it simply is not true that someone who inhales the tiniest amount of tobacco smoke may well develop cancer because of it. There is certainly no evidence to support such a statement.

The United States Surgeon General’s Office (part of the U.S. Public Health Service) is funded entirely by taxpayers and is the most prominent advocate for public health in the country. It was this that lead Siegel to conclude that the Surgeon General’s lie was the most egregious: “Given the influence of the Surgeon General’s statements on anti-smoking groups and the prominence of the Surgeon General’s statements in the media, the assertion that even a brief tobacco smoke exposure can cause heart disease and lung cancer is likely to be used successfully by anti-smoking groups to support an ever-increasingly aggressive agenda of banning smoking just about everywhere.”

–Patrick S

photo credit: Wikipedia

In the first 2011 issue of “Random Thoughts from the Humidor” I examine the politics of Santa’s pipe smoking, Mayor Bloomberg’s war on salt, and football:

Santa Smokes

The anti-smokers may have hit a new low. Joseph Banzhaf, head of the militant anti-smoking group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), is politicizing Santa Claus to push his militant anti-tobacco agenda. Banzhaf claims in a press release that St. Nick was quitting his beloved pipe, even though a clay pipe has been associated with Santa Claus for as long as there has been a Santa Clause. In fact, the St. Nicholas Center traces Santa’s pipe smoking back to a book written by Washington Irving in 1809.

Dealing with Whiny Anti-Smokers

As I walked the snow-filled but unplowed streets of New York City after Christmas with a cigar in hand, I got a disappointing (if not unexpected) response from one of my fellow snowed-in New Yorkers. My fellow pedestrian felt the need to comment on how she “couldn’t stand the smell” of my Tatuaje. I thought about explaining to her how if she felt that way she should oppose Mayor Bloomberg’s smoking ban which forced me to take my smoking outside, or retorting that I couldn’t stand the sound of her shrill complaining. Ultimately, though, I just laughed and crossed the street when I was able to find a crosswalk that wasn’t blocked by a mountain of snow.

The Nanny State Doesn’t Just Impact Smokers

Mike Bloomberg hasn’t only declared war on smoking. He has also declared war on salt, soda, and other “unhealthy” foods. I couldn’t help thinking of this war on salt as the streets of New York remained uncleared and unsalted. My sentiment was summed up well in Eric Felton’s Wall Street Journal article, “The War on Good Taste” (worth the full read): “Perhaps if Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent less time keeping salt off our tables and more time getting salt on the streets, New York roads might have been passable this week.”

Cigars at the Ballgame

Yesterday I attended the Giants-Redskins game at FedEx Field outside Washington, DC. People complain about the gameday experience there, but one plus is the Montecristo Lounge, where you can fire up a cigar in the stadium. It amazes me that so few other stadiums have embraced cigar lounges. During this particular game, the lounge was full of ticket-holders drinking $8 beers and buying up cigars. How is this not a win-win for sports teams and their tobacco-enjoying fans?

–Patrick S

photo credit: St. Nicholas Center