The Stogie Guys

Sure, the Buckeye State might be home to the best team in college football (at least for now), but do Ohioans have the right to light up indoors? According to the power-hungry state legislators in Columbus, not after 12:01 AM on Thursday.

That’s when the fascist statewide smoking ban on bars, restaurants, and almost every other business goes into effect, criminalizing business owners who choose to offer smoke-friendly environments to their customers and the adult smokers who consciously frequent such locales.

But before you stop reading this out of frustration or sheer helplessness, you should know that this time there’s something you can do. The following simple action may not stop the law from hitting Ohioans like a hurricane of oppression, but it will infuriate the Columbus bureaucrats who thrust their “values” on the populace – and that’s a start.

Take a few minutes to call 866-559-OHIO. That’s the toll-free “Complaint Hotline” the state initiated to allow nosey Ohioans to report smoking ban violations. Even though the ban is not yet in effect, the hotline is up and running and will immediately connect you to a lovely Ohio Department of Health bureaucrat. They even take out of state calls! Trust me.

Instead of reporting a ban violation, I suggest you let the state government have a piece of your mind for squelching free choice and imposing their anti-smoking “ideals” on the citizenry. Now that’s a complaint.

If you don’t know how to put your feelings into words, feel free to take a few lines from this post.

It’s worth pointing out that Ohio officials established the hotline because they’re not quite sure how to enforce the ban. That’s government efficiency for you.

So let’s make the Columbus bureaucrats pay for their fascist powergrab by flooding the Ohio Department of Health with some serious “complaints” over the next few days. We may not make any real difference in public policy, but we can piss off the government workers who live off our tax dollars.

–Patrick A

First the anti-smoking zealots stripped business owners of their right to offer smoke-friendly accommodations, and now they’re attacking our harmless wooden decorations. Tobacconists and Stogie Guys beware because cigar store Indians are now officially under fire.

Sure, the following frightening tale comes from our socialist neighbors to the north (Windsor, to be more precise), but given the ferocious speed with which anti-smoking fascists were able to strip us of our basic freedoms in the U.S., how long is it before cigar store Indians are criminalized in America?

Soubhi Assi said he’s put up with a lot over the last few months, but when the health unit started messing with his Indian, he drew the line.

Assi, who owns the Downtown Smoke Shop, said health unit inspectors were in his store last week and told him the life-sized carved wooden Indian near the front door is illegal because it promotes tobacco use.

Assi said he’s obeyed the provincial smoking ban, which outlaws signs promoting tobacco or accessories, by taking down advertisements, removing prices from cigarettes, and replacing a neon “Cigar” sign with a “Coffee” sign, even though he doesn’t sell coffee.

He also covered the overhead sign with his store’s name on it, although it was replaced with another sign that sarcastically declared, “Don’t look at this sign. It may cause cancer.”

As I give well-deserved props to Assi for having a good sense of humor while the paternalistic government breathes down his neck and threatens his way of life, I hope you find this ridiculous scenario as sad as I do. If I ever find myself in Windsor, I’m stopping by the Downtown Smoke Shop to shake Assi’s hand and make a very large purchase.

For now, though, let’s hope this absurdity stays where it belongs – up north.

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars

From all of us here at StogieGuys.com, here’s wishing you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving!

We have a lot to be thankful for this year, so we’re taking the day off to spend some time with our families.

We recommend you eat your weight in turkey, watch some football, and meet us back here tomorrow for another Friday Sampler.

– The Stogie Guys

Originally built in 1903, the Berriman-Morgan Cigar factory may seem to be a relic of a bygone era. But the Ybor City factory that once produced millions of Havanas a year is coming back to life after decades of abandonment and disrepair.

Thanks to Nicholas Jammal, the Tampa Tribune reports the century-old building will be thoroughly restored as it is transformed from abandoned cigar factory to office space.

When [Jammal] first saw the factory, he knew its location on Howard Avenue (just south of Interstate 275 halfway between West Shore Boulevard and downtown) would make it ideal for professional offices. It already had been designated as a national and local historic landmark, which meant he could take advantage of federal tax credits and local property tax exemptions.

He bought it in 2004 for $600,000, partly with a loan earmarked for historic preservation projects like his. It took 18 months – much longer than he expected – to get all his plans approved. It might have taken longer if Tampa City Councilwoman Mary Alvarez had not streamlined the approval process for him. Her mother was a cigar roller at the factory in the 1940s…

He inherited his devotion to historic preservation from both parents, Roda and Aliya Jammal. His father once told him their passion for historic buildings may come from the fact that their ancestors are from Baalbeck, an ancient city in Lebanon known for its ruins.

Over the past year, Jammal and his employees at Jammal Engineering fixed the factory’s roof. Parts of the tongue-in-groove bead board ceiling were missing, so they relocated materials from other parts of the building and flawlessly blended them. The crew also made new ceiling boards, so it’s hard to tell where the old stop and the new begin.

They took hundreds of concrete blocks out of the 100 window openings and designed replicas of the original windows and frames.

Some original green shutters survived, so Jammal made a replica of one as a pattern for his workers to copy. They brought the old brick back to its original color, matched missing bricks and created a replacement for the column base at the entranceway.

They shored up other column bases, replicated existing arches and moldings and made doors to match originals. Next, they plan to put the old water tower back up on its perch on the south side of the factory.

Jammal hopes the work will be done by March. He plans to rent space to architects, engineers or lawyers and maybe save a corner space for himself on the third floor.

For more information, we highly recommend the Tampa Tribune’s interactive tour of the factory.

–Patrick S

Whether you’re an elated Democrat or a somber Republican this morning, Election Day yielded mixed results for America’s smokers (and others who are concerned about individual rights and limited government). Below is a rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly results from yesterday’s anti-tobacco initiatives. While StogieGuys.com is now calling all of these propositions, you can still get live coverage here.

The Good
California’s Proposition 86, which would have placed a 135 percent tax on tobacco products in the Golden State, failed by a vote of 52.2 percent to 47.8 (with 99.6 percent of the precincts reporting). I guess this extreme tax hike was a bit much – even for the militant tax-and-spend, anti-smoking zealots that make up America’s Left Coast.

Meanwhile, Missouri’s Amendment 3, which would have increased the excise tax on tobacco to 30 percent, failed by a vote of 51.7 percent to 48.3 (with 95.6 percent of the precincts reporting). Way to go, Show Me State!

The Bad
Arizona passed Proposition 201 by a vote of 54.2 percent to 45.8 (with 100 percent of the precincts reporting). The new law will ban smoking in all bars and restaurants statewide, except for patios (how generous). A similar proposition that would have exempted bars did not pass.

South Dakota (the rectangle below North Dakota) also passed a tobacco tax hike by a vote of 55 percent to 45 (with 100 percent of the precincts reporting). Mount Rushmore State citizens now have a 35 percent tax on all tobacco products – including a new $1-per-pack cigarette tax – to look forward to.

The Ugly
Nevada’s Question 5, a ban on smoking in all bars that serve food and other public places, carried by a vote of 53.8 percent to 46.1 (with 99 percent of the precincts reporting). Don’t worry; politicians were kind enough to throw in an exemption for tax-generating casinos. A similar proposition that would have included an exemption for bars failed.

Meanwhile, Ohio’s State Issue 5 passed by a resounding vote of 58.2 to 41.7 percent (with 99 percent of the precincts reporting). The new law will ban smoking in public places and most private businesses, excluding tobacco shops already in operation. A similar proposition with more exemptions failed miserably.

Analysis
Well, there you have it. While voters in California and Missouri fortunately turned down attempts to increase their taxes, South Dakotans welcomed a tobacco tax hike with open arms. Most disturbingly, every single fascist smoking ban passed.

In a country that was founded on individual liberty, personal responsibility, and limited government, can someone please explain why these propositions were on ballots in the first place?

I need a stiff drink and a strong cigar. Too bad the number of locales where I can partake in said activities is shrinking rapidly.

–Patrick A

The following are live results from the anti-tobacco initiatives on the ballot yesterday, updated with results (where available) as of 9:40 AM EST. To learn more about these iniatives, please check out the RTDA initiative guide. Also, please click here for a StogieGuys.com election wrap-up.

For live results from California Prop 86 (tobacco tax), click here.
YES – 47.8%
NO – 52.2%

For live results from Arizona Prop 201 (smoking ban), click here.
YES – 54.2%
NO – 45.8%

For live results from Nevada Questions 4 & 5 (both smoking bans), click here.
Question 4:
YES – 47.99%
NO – 52.01%
Question 5:
YES – 53.89%
NO – 46.11%

For live results from Ohio State Issues 4 (smoking ban) & 5 (smoking ban with more exemptions), click here.
State Issue 4:
NO – 64.28%
YES – 35.72%
State Issue 5:
YES – 58.29%
NO – 41.71%

For live results from South Dakota Initiative 5 (tobacco tax), click here.
NO – 45%
YES – 55%

For live results from Missouri Constitutional Amendment 3 (tobacco tax), click here.
YES – 48.3%
NO – 51.7%

Click here for a StogieGuys.com election wrap-up.

–Patrick S

Cuban cigars are considered by many to be the best in the world, but they are also the most widely counterfeited. Since May we’ve been keeping you up to date on major busts involving fake stogie busts both in the U.S. and abroad.

Now the bust we reported on in May, that resulted in Miami-Dade police seizing $20 million in fake cigars, is finally making its way to the courts:

Federal prosecutors have dropped counterfeiting charges against a Little Havana cigar merchant who was accused of selling fake Cuban cigars whose trademarks belong to a major South Florida company.

The U.S. attorney’s office withdrew the charges against Feliberto Marimon this week after determining there were flaws in the prosecution on the eve of trial.

The reason given by the federal prosecutor heading up the case is that Marimon was wrongly identified by a police informant, who now says one of Marimon’s assistants actually handled the Honduran cigars that were marked “Made in Cuba.”

However, hanging over the case is the role played by Altadis USA, owner of many famous Cuban brands such as Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann, and Trinidad. Altadis spent tens of thousands of dollars on the investigation including giving money to the Miami-Dade police for undercover purchases of the counterfeit cigars, paying for the transportation and storage of the cigars seized, and directly paying an informant $1,500 a month plus almost $20,000 in relocation fees.

Such expenditures have led some to ask if Altadis played an improper role, even giving rise to allegations that the company is buying the prosecution.

StogieGuys.com will continue to cover counterfeiting stories, but since it is unlikely that counterfeit cigars will ever be completely eliminated, we suggest that for now you read our guide to spotting a fake.

–Patrick S