A few days ago I had a debate about smoking bans with a friend who said he’d be perfectly happy to allow smoking if someone invented a smokeless cigar. I haven’t heard of those, but how about a cigar that emits only a fine, sparkling mist of 24 karat gold?
For now, sadly, this remarkable golden smoke exists only in the world of ridiculous Photoshopping. The gold leaf cigar is real though. For just $94.50 it makes the perfect gift for a friend, provided your friend is an obnoxious James Bond villain.
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Prince George’s County, MD has approved a measure banning the sale of individual cigars. Stores must instead sell them in packs of at least five. But there are exceptions:
Tobacco stores that specialize in cigar sales, and often sell high-end cigars for as much as $5 apiece or more, are excluded from the legislation’s restrictions, as are other locations that are sometimes age-restricted, including golf courses, fraternal lodges, bars and restaurants.
Katherine Mangu-Ward cries racism:
In short, the only thing that has been banned are cheap cigars in places where poor black people buy them. Carry on with your commerce, white men, in your cigar stores, Elks Clubs, and golf courses.
But Katherine, you’ve got it all wrong! In today’s world, it’s treating people like adults and letting them purchase what they want that’s racist. That’s why everyone was so upset about the racist FDA tobacco bill that would have outlawed all cigarette flavorings except for menthol, that being the flavor preferred by three quarters of African-American smokers. The PG County ban disproportionately protects blacks, leaving middle class white guys unrestricted to indulge their deadly preferences.
As one of those middle class white guys who’ve been known to enjoy an individual $5 cigar from time to time, I’m terribly offended. I demand equality before the law! Prince George’s County, ban my purchases too!
Previously:
Cigars for me, but not for thee
Freshly minted bias
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Baltimore wants to snuff out sales of low-cost, individual cigars:
The individual sale of low-cost cigars could be banned in Baltimore City under a proposal by city and health officials who called them “public nuisances.”
Mayor Sheila Dixon and city Health Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein on Wednesday proposed a new regulation requiring tobacco retailers to sell cigars in packs of five, saying cheap, tobacco-rich cigars are attractive to youths…
Violation of the proposal — which exempts tobacco shops and cigars that cost $2 or more — would be considered a misdemeanor and carry a fine no greater than $1,000.
In other words, upper class people can responsibly choose to smoke a cigar, but poor people need to have choices taken away from them. Ironically, my guess is that if this ban passed it would just drive teens and poorer customers to the more dangerous menthol cigarettes, not away from smoking entirely.
[Hat tip: Cigar Jack.]
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Jacob Grier is a freelance writer, barista, mixologist, and magician in Portland, OR. He writes, eats, and drinks a lot. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, Reason Online, The Oregonian, and other publications.
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