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News: Growing Evidence Suggests Tobacco May Play a ‘Protective’ Role Against Covid-19

27 Apr 2020

There is so much we don’t know about SARS-CoV-2, the Coronavirus currently threatening global health and the world economy. But perhaps one of the more surprising stories emerging from this massively disruptive virus is the growing evidence that tobacco use might be a factor in preventing transmission of Covid-19.

The cigar industry, like so many industries, has been massively impacted. Many factories have paused operations. In some states, cigar shops have been deemed “non-essential” and shut down, while elsewhere they continue to operate with new social distancing policies. Whether completely shut down or just limited, cigar shops are at serious risk of not surviving. Meanwhile, in response to the crisis, the federal government has delayed FDA filing and tobacco tax deadlines.

Early on as the virus was spreading, the assumption was smokers and former smokers (especially of cigarettes) were at higher risk of catching the virus, due to its transmission through the respiratory system. Anti-smoking activists were quick to cite the virus as a reason for more government policies limiting access of adults to tobacco. The World Health Organization made similar arguments.

Anti-smoking “zealot” Stanton A. Glantz (whose propensity to draw sweeping conclusions from limited statistics has been documented) even claimed, “the odds of disease progression (including to death) were 14 times higher among people with a history of smoking compared to those who did not smoke… the strongest risk factor among those examined.” That claim has since apparently been stealth edited out of the original article, but remains quoted in articles about it, including one specifically arguing Coronavirus meant it was time to quit cigars.

The since walked-back “14 times higher” claim (which was also pushed by the British Government) was actually based on a Chinese study with a sample size consisting of five total smokers (see above). This is a sample so small any serious scientist would never rely on it, certainly not to make such sweeping claims. Needless to say, those of us who have been following this issue for awhile aren’t surprised to find government agencies twisting statistics to push their anti-tobacco agenda.

Experts: Tobacco May Play a ‘Protective’ Role Against Covid-19

What is truly remarkable is the mounting evidence that smoking makes smokers (and, to a lesser extent, ex-smokers) specifically less susceptible to the virus. Contrary to the cherry-picked conclusions pushed by anti-tobacco activists, every week more evidence seems to emerge that bolsters the conclusion that tobacco protects smokers from Covid-19.

Author Christopher Snowdon (who has written books exposing the exaggerated claims of anti-smoking activists) recently summarized the ever-expanding evidence:

In [China] where 27 per cent of adults smoke, only 6.4 per cent of the Covid-19 cases were smokers. This was not a fluke finding. Awkwardly for the anti-smoking lobby, smokers have been strangely under-represented in all the studies for which smoking prevalence data is available. They made up just 1.4 per cent of the cases in Zhang et al, 6.7 per cent in Wan et al, 3.9 per cent in Mo et al, seven per cent in Huang et al, nine per cent in Dong et al, 10 per cent of cases in Yang et al, 1.9 per cent in Guan et al, six per cent in Zhou et al, and 6.4 per cent in Liu et al. In Shi et al, only 8.2 per cent of cases had any smoking history [current or former smokers]. 

Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos of the University of Patras in Greece noticed this phenomenon early on and put a preliminary study online in late March. It noted the ‘unusually low prevalence of current smoking was observed among hospitalised Covid-19 patients’, which ‘does not support the argument that current smoking is a risk factor for hospitalisation for Covid-19, and might suggest a protective role’. 

A few days earlier, a group of doctors from the Royal Glamorgan Hospital had written to the British Medical Journal to point out that nicotine protects against the kind of acute inflammatory reactions seen in Covid patients and that ‘the simple use of nicotine patches should be urgently considered and discussed.’ Nobody paid much attention, but evidence supporting the smoking hypothesis continued to slip out. 

On 3 April, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control published data on thousands of American Covid-19 cases. Once again, the proportion of smokers was tiny – just 1.3 per cent [versus 14% who smoke]. Even ex-smokers were significantly under-represented (2.3 per cent).

The most comprehensive epidemiological study appeared a week later. Based on data from 4,103 Covid patients in New York City, a team of researchers found that a history of smoking was associated with a 29 per cent reduction in risk of being hospitalised with Covid-19 and, contrary to the claims of Public Health England, smokers were no more likely to become critically ill with the disease if they were admitted. The authors would have found an even sharper reduction in risk for current smokers if they had split them up from ex-smokers in their analysis, but even the findings as published were striking. 

This week, a group of French academics published their study of 343 Covid patients, of whom only 4.4 per cent were daily smokers. According to the authors, the study ‘strongly suggests that daily smokers have a very much lower probability of developing symptomatic or severe SARS-CoV-2 infection as compared to the general population.’

Pause a second to consider some of those quotes from medical experts (emphasis added):

“[The study] strongly suggests that daily smokers have a very much lower probability of developing symptomatic or severe SARS-CoV-2 infection as compared to the general population.”

“[The] unusually low prevalence of current smoking was observed among hospitalised Covid-19 patients… does not support the argument that current smoking is a risk factor for hospitalisation for Covid-19, and might suggest a protective role.”

There are, of course, many unanswered questions about the reason for the apparent link between smoking and lower rates of symptomatic Covid-19. Still, it’s enough that French researchers have already initiated a study consisting of handing out nicotine patches to frontline medical workers and Coronavirus patients:

Nicotine could protect people from contracting the coronavirus, according to new research in France, where further trials are planned to test whether the substance could be used to prevent or treat the deadly illness. The findings come after researchers at a top Paris hospital examined 343 Coronavirus patients along with 139 people infected with the illness with milder symptoms.

They found that a low number of them smoked, compared to smoking rates of around 35 percent in France’s general population. “Among these patients, only five percent were smokers,” said Zahir Amoura, the study’s co-author and a professor of internal medicine.

The research echoed similar findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine last month that suggested that 12.6 percent of 1,000 people infected in China were smokers. That was a much lower figure than the number of regular smokers in China’s general population, about 26 percent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The theory is that nicotine could adhere to cell receptors, therefore blocking the virus from entering cells and spreading in the body, according to renown neurobiologist Jean-Pierre Changeux from France’s Pasteur Institut, who also co-authored the study.

To be clear, we still know very little about Covid-19, which is part of the reason it remains such a serious threat. And as we scramble to treat it and prevent it, we know even less about the long-term impact of the deadly virus. (Certainly no medical experts are currently recommending people take up smoking to prevent Coronavirus.)

Among other considerations while digesting this data is that all tobacco use isn’t the same. Cigarettes are normally inhaled into the lungs, while cigars are not when used as intended. Any study of smokers or former smokers is statistically going to overwhelmingly be of cigarette smokers, not those who smoke the handmade cigars that are the longstanding focus at this website. And, of course, there are other risks associated with smoking (to differing degrees for different types of smokers), just as there are risks with any activity.

None of which diminishes the fact that it looks more and more likely that tobacco may be part of the solution, not part of the problem, when it comes to Coronavirus. In fact, one major tobacco company is already claiming to have found a tobacco-based breakthrough in the production of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The fact that the statistics are glaring enough that researchers are not only acknowledging smoking’s apparent preventative impact but are looking to nicotine to develop both preventative and treatment options, suggests this is not some random statistical anomaly.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Phil Kerpen/CMJ

News: Keeping Up With What Once Made Tampa ‘Cigar City’

6 Jan 2020

Whether you’re a habitué of Tampa’s historic Ybor City, or a new visitor eager to explore, it helps to have a guide.

And if you’re interested in the iconic buildings that once housed bustling cigar factories, there’s no one better to help plan your tour that Tom Ufer, who’s probably forgotten more about those old structures than most of us will ever know.

Tom writes now about cigars and the Tampa Bay cigar scene on his blog, The Cigar Smoking Man. In the past, he also produced a terrific Baedeker about the Ybor City factories while he was writing for Examiner.com. But when that site shut down a few years ago, his work went with it.

Now, though, Tom tells me he’s been able to recreate the posts and is starting to publish them again online.

The old factories that helped make Tampa “Cigar City” seem to always be of interest.

Just last month, for instance, the Tampa Bay Times wrote about the more than 100-year-old Y. Pendes & Alvarez Cigar Factory going up for sale for $4.5 million. While it is one of the fewer than two-dozen remaining factory buildings left from Tampa’s cigar-making prime, it doesn’t have protection under a local preservation ordinance.

Also, work continues on renovations at J.C. Newman’s illustrious El Reloj factory—the last one operating in Tampa—in time to celebrate its 110th anniversary this year by making it a cigar-lover’s destination.

“In addition to an expanded museum, our public areas will also include a retail store, hand-rolling area, and many interactive experiences,” the company says. “Between our self-guided and docent-led tour options, you will be able to peek into the past to see how our family persevered through the years, learn more about the industry which built Tampa, and experience the artistry of cigar making first hand.”

So, before your next visit to Ybor City, where you’ll find a number of shops in a cigar-friendly atmosphere, check out Tom’s guide and enjoy a little history along with a smoke.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr

News: Cigars International’s Next Step Is Florida

2 Aug 2019

Retail giant Cigars International is planning its first venture into the southeast with a new store just north of Tampa.

The move comes months after the retailer’s owner, Scandavanian Tobacco Group (STG), announced plans to shut Tampa operations for Thompson Cigar, which it bought last year for $62 million.

The new Florida store will continue Cigars International’s expansion efforts beyond its Pennsylvania roots. Last year, it opened a 6,000-square-foot shop in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.

Florida and Pennsylvania are home to many online/catalog cigar retailers like Cigars International because neither state imposes a separate cigar tax.

In recent years, the Tampa area has seen moves by several cigar industry giants. Imperial Brands Casa de Montecristo bought and renamed Tampa Humidor in 2018, and Davidoff partnered with Jeff Borysiewicz, owner of Orlando-based Corona Cigar Co., to open a signature shop near the airport.

STG is a massive player in the tobacco market, especially through manufacturer General Cigar. Other holdings include Cigar.com, Cigars & Pipes online store, and a number of pipe tobacco and machine-made cigar brands.

It is in the process of winding down Thompson’s Tampa operations, where the company has operated since moving from Key West in 1920.

The new Cigars International store is proposed for a retail area north of Tampa near the intersection of interstates 75 and 275, according to an article in the Tampa Bay Times. “It’s not so much a cigar store, but a destination,” company president Craig Reynolds told the newspaper.

Plans call for opening next year.

–George E

photo credit: Cigars International

News: Bipartisan Congressional Bill Would Raise Minimum Age for Tobacco to 21

22 May 2019

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If you need a reminder that anti-tobacco efforts are often a bipartisan affair, look no further than legislation introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA). The bill would raise the nationwide age for purchasing tobacco to 21.

The federal minimum age for purchasing tobacco products is 18, although state and local governments can set the minimum age higher (14 states have set the age at 21, along with 470 municipalities). Obviously, raising the minimum age above 18 raises questions about why adults who can vote and serve in the military cannot choose whether or not to enjoy a cigar.

The issue of members of the military who are under 21, even if they are deployed overseas, being banned from choosing use tobacco products was previously a hold-up in the proposed legislation. While originally McConnell expressed reservations about such a law applying to service members, he seems to have relented.

The largest cigarette company, Altria, has backed legislation raising the minimum age for tobacco purchases to 21. Notably, both McConnell and Kaine ares senators from states traditionally known for growing cigarette tobacco.

Analysis

In a political climate that increasingly purports to respect tolerance of personal choice, the double-standard when it comes to tobacco and adults is glaring. As many have observed before, there is no way to reconcile giving 18-year-olds the right to vote and the right (and, theoretically, through draft registration, the obligation) to serve in the military, but not the ability to choose whether or not to enjoy tobacco products.

Although tobacco companies may back the legislation, there is little reason to think that the “T21” movement was spreading to all 50 states. Further, to the extent T21 was spreading, it wasn’t likely to be extended anytime soon above age 21, which is also when the law limits adults from purchasing alcohol.

Ultimately, given the profile of most purchasers of handmade cigars, raising the minimum age for purchasing tobacco is unlikely to have a significant effect on cigar-specific retailers, despite the obvious aforementioned hypocrisy of simultaneously permitting 18-year-olds to both vote and serve in the military. That said, there is the possibility that raising the age for the purchase of tobacco to 21 could slow down efforts to regulate tobacco by the FDA.

As the Tobacco Control Act (which gives the FDA the authority to regulate premium cigars) specifically refers to limiting tobacco usage by minors under the age of 18, there is an argument that a federal tobacco age changed to 21 should result in a reset of FDA regulations. Specifically, for handmade cigars (which were always less likely to be used by minors) there is even less logic for the FDA to regulate cigars on the grounds that it is necessary to prevent youth usage if all tobacco is illegal for those under 21.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

 

News: Tatuaje Club Partners with Cigar Rights of America

6 May 2019

For the first time since it was launched in 2011, Saints & Sinners—the private, members-only Tatuaje club that annually sends participants exclusive cigars and other branded merchandise—is joining forces with Cigar Rights of America (CRA).

“With all the looming regulations that are plaguing our rights to enjoy cigars, we have decided that the only way we are going to make a change is if we, the cigar community, stand up for our rights,” said Sean Casper Johnson, co-founder and co-president of Saints & Sinners, Inc., in a recent email. “That said, Saints & Sinners has decided to partner up with CRA moving forward and will be donating a big portion of our membership dues to CRA so they can continue the fight to protect our rights to enjoy a product that we love.”

Annual membership fees have increased 17% to $175, with presumably the complete $25 increase going to CRA. This marks the first time in the club’s eight-year history that the fees won’t be $150. But it also means the annual smoke kit of exclusive cigars that won’t be commercially available elsewhere will grow from 15 to 17, and that each Saints & Sinners membership will include membership in CRA.

In addition to cigars, Saints & Sinners members are annually shipped Tatuaje-branded merchandise (i.e., hats and shirts) and other ancillary items of interest (i.e., wine openers, poker chips, lighters, ash trays, etc.). Until it arrives, the contents of that year’s shipment is typically a highly anticipated mystery.

Personally, I’ve been a member all eight years and have never been disappointed. The 10 exclusive cigars alone are always worth it; everything else is icing on the cake. And now, if you do the math, and if you value membership in CRA, the club is a better deal. In year’s past, you’d get 15 cigars for $150, or $10 per cigar; now you get 17 cigars for $175, or $10.29 per cigar—plus CRA membership. (The cigars are almost always terrific, even if we don’t write much about them here; I suspect few want to read reviews of cigars that are not commercially available—but let me know if this is an inaccurate assumption!)

Speaking of access to the invitation-only club, if you’re not already a Saints & Sinners member, now is a good time to find someone who is. Membership renewals for 2019 are currently open and will run though June 15. Each member is able to invite one person to join.

Cigar Rights of America is a national advocacy group that works at all levels of government to protect cigar consumers, retailers, manufacturers, and tobacco growers from regulatory threats, including smoking bans and tobacco taxes.

UPDATE: Sean Casper Johnson confirms the entire $25 increase will go towards CRA. And while he prefers to not cite exactly how many Saints & Sinners members there are, he confirms there are over 1,000. Finally, with regards to the 2019 smoke kit, he says, “This year’s kit will be extremely special. Pete [Johnson] and I selected the cigars last week and he is in Nicaragua blend testing them now.”

Patrick A

photo credit: Saints & Sinners

News: FDA Commissioner’s Resignation Could Have Big Implications for Cigar Regulations

6 Mar 2019

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Late yesterday reports broke that U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb would be resigning his position next month. The move comes less than two years after Gottlieb was confirmed to the position in May 2017.

According to a Washington Post report, Gottlieb’s resignation didn’t come at the request of the the White House. President Trump tweeted praise of Gottlieb’s job at the FDA. “Scott has helped us to lower drug prices, get a record number of generic drugs approved and onto the market, and so many other things.”

Gottlieb, who had been commuting from Connecticut weekly, told the Post it was a difficult decision. “This is the best job I will ever have. I’m leaving because I need to spend time with my family. I get home late Friday, work on weekends, and come back to Washington on Sunday.”

Gottlieb’s confirmation was supported by cigar industry groups based on his prior writings questioning the logic of FDA tobacco cigar regulations. But his time at the FDA was a mixed bag for cigars. Gottlieb came into the job known for a “harm reduction” approach to tobacco regulations.

One of Gottlieb’s first acts was to delay upcoming deadlines for implementing the FDA’s Deeming Rule, which included new cigars. He later initiated another round of rule-making on whether the FDA should adopt an exemption for premium cigars. Later, Gottlieb pushed for a ban on flavored tobacco products.

Next Commissioner Faces Big Decisions on Cigar Regulations

Gottlieb’s departure leaves the next head of the FDA to make major decisions regarding the FDA’s oversight of premium cigars. A permanent replacement for Gottlieb would need to go through a Senate confirmation process, which would take months given the backlog of other nominees awaiting confirmation votes. An acting commissioner could be named more quickly, but no decisions have been made about who would fill the post.

The FDA could issue a final rule on the premium cigar exemption any day now and, unless it comes in the next month, it may be one of the first big decisions made by the next commissioner. If a final rule isn’t issued before late spring 2020, the rule can be overturned using the Congressional Review Act by a new Congress and president after the 2020 elections.

The next commissioner would also be primed to make final rulings on flavored tobacco products and on an FDA initiative for reduced nicotine tobacco products. Cigar industry groups would do well to lobby the White House for a nominee who is likely to issue premium cigars a long sought-after exemption from FDA rules.

–Patrick S

photo credits: Stogie Guys

News: Tampa Looks at Protecting Historic Cigar Factories

14 Jan 2019

Tampa, which calls itself “Cigar City” for its long-ago role as the hub of the industry in the U.S., may again consider officially protecting the historic factories that remain.

Designating the old facilities as historic landmarks, which restricts some changes, was rejected a few years ago. Many of the two-dozen or so remaining buildings still dot Tampa’s Ybor City neighborhood, which is also home to numerous cigar shops, small rolling operations, and a giant annual cigar festival.

The only full-fledged factory still operating is J.C. Newman’s (pictured above). Others sit empty or have been converted to different uses. Some already have the historic designation.

New interest in the factories was spurred recently when the city said it had ordered a halt to remodeling work on the Santaella Cigar Factory building because of permit issues. One city councilman told the Tampa Bay Times that it was important to protect the old factories: “They are the castles of our neighborhood.”

According to the Times, Tampa council members considered the historic landmark designation in 2006 but were dissuaded by owners who viewed it as a potential restriction of their property rights.

The Santaella is a three-story building constructed in 1904, one of more than 200 cigar factories that operated at one time in Ybor City. Babe Ruth was said to stop by Santaella for cigars when the Yankees held spring training in the area.

In recent years, the building has been home to local artists. It was sold last year, and the permit flap flared as the new owner was renovating.

We’ve written about Tampa’s cigar history in the past, including a 2015 piece that included a reference to a terrific resource, Tom Ufer’s seminal guide to the factories in Ybor City. If you don’t find live links at Tom’s site, be sure to check back; he recently told me he’s working to restore much of the great information he compiled.

–George E

photo credit: J.C. Newman