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Arrested men enjoyed a smoke in squad car Posted on: Wednesday, 15 July 2009, 12:45 CDT Two handcuffed suspects managed to contort themselves enough to light up a cigar and a cigarette in the back of a squad car in Cincinnati, police allege. Police said after being arrested on theft charges last week, Edward Humphrey and Melvin Barnes allegedly worked in tandem to extract the smoking goods from Barnes's pocket and light them, the Cincinnati Enquirer said Wednesday. The two men, who stand accused of stealing tools from an area business, had previously been told they could not smoke inside...

TAMPA - Tampa will lose part of its cigar heritage in August when Hav-A-Tampa shuts its factory near Seffner and lays off about 495 employees, closing a factory that has been operating since 1902. However, the company attributed much of its trouble to the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, a federal program that provides health insurance to low-income children. It is funded, in part, by a new federal tax on cigars and cigarettes. McKenzie couldn't say how much sales of Hav-A-Tampa cigars had fallen off, but the numbers have dropped significantly, he said. Previously, federal excise taxes on...

Sales have been hurt by the spread of indoor smoking bans, which have forced people to go outside to smoke. Tampa will lose part of its cigar heritage in August when Hav-A-Tampa shuts its factory near Seffner and lays off about 495 employees, closing a factory that has been operating since 1902. The company announced the closing today. Many employees there make Hav-A-Tampa's iconic Jewels, inexpensive machine-made cigars known for their birchwood tips. Some workers have labored there for two decades or longer, including one who's been there for 50 years, said Richard McKenzie, a senior vice president of human...

TAMPA - Tampa will lose part of its cigar heritage in August when Hav-A-Tampa shuts its factory near Seffner and lays off about 495 employees, closing a factory that has been operating since 1902. The company announced the closing today. Many employees there make Hav-A-Tampa's iconic Jewels, inexpensive machine-made cigars known for their birchwood tips. Some workers have labored there for two decades or longer, including one who's been there for 50 years, said Richard McKenzie, a senior vice president of human resources for Altadis USA, which owns Hav-A-Tampa. Altadis tried to keep the plant open by closing it for...

Bristol Palin's new abstinence campaign shines a light on the Republican Party's unhealthy attitude about sex and desire. BY MEGHAN MCCAIN The first time I ever heard about oral sex was during the Lewinsky scandal. Mostly, I remember being confused by President Clinton’s response—“it depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is”. When it comes to sex, politicians face all sorts of double standards: who is allowed to have sex with whom, what constitutes sex, and whether it’s appropriate, to name a few. Candie’s Foundation’s announcement that they were partnering with Bristol Palin to promote an abstinence-only campaign has caused...

In tribute to stogie lover Wolverine, we rundown five other action heroes that are smokin’ hot – literally Cinema’s archives are dusted in the ash of burnt out cigars. Meatier than cigarettes and less fussy than pipes, the stogie has become cinematic shorthand for manly strength, very rarely to be found in the delicate paw of the fairer sex. They’re a favourite with those bastions of masculine ruthlessness, the gangster flick and the western. In the former they famously gave Tony Montana (Al Pacino) something to chew on in Scarface while Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name in the Dollars...

Smoking was an important part of the life of a well-to-do gentleman in the 19th century. A cigar after dinner was routine. Smoking paraphernalia was created not only to be useful but also to show off wealth. Collectors today still search for all kinds of tobacco-related items, although smoking has lost favor. Pipes, ashtrays, cigar holders, lighters, cigarette or cigar cases, cigarette or cigar boxes, cigarette dispensers and smoking stands are collected. Some collectors want commercial packaging and advertising, including cigar box labels and wooden boxes, packs of matches, cigar bands, cigarettes packs, trade cards for tobacco products, cut-out newspaper...

Repairs are underway at a northeast Fresno cigar store after an SUV plowed through the front door. The accident occurred just before one 1:00 PM Wednesday afternoon at Cigar Mas Fino, located at Cedar and Nees Avenues. No one was hurt but it made quite a mess. The driver of the SUV accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake. The vehicle went through the front door and windows and most of the cigar lounge. It also broke the buildings water main, which flooded the cigar shop. Former Fresno City Councilman Jerry Duncan, a customer of the cigar store said,...

In the run-up to next month’s Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, the Obama administration has moved to ease travel controls and lift limits on cash remittances that Cuban-Americans can send to the island, notes a report in the U.K.’s Observer. The ground-breaking provisions are featured in a $410 billion spending bill set to be voted on this week. The bill would allow Americans with immediate family in Cuba to visit annually, instead of once every three years, and broaden the definition of immediate family. It would also nix a requirement that Havana pay cash in advance for...

Feeling the economic pinch? Try a Greek cigar by The Associated Press DOMENICO, Greece -- Greek households are cutting expenses and spending less time at restaurants or hair salons. But one local luxury is defying the downturn: cigars. Business is good at Domenico Cigars, a tiny factory in central Greece that got its cigar seeds and secrets from Cuba. Greece's unlikely cigar industry started five years ago in a valley 185 miles northwest of Athens, where conditions are ideally hot and damp. Last year set a record for output -- still a modest 70,000 cigars. Andreas Haralambous, head of the...

Black & Mild maker responds to Dwaine Caraway's anti-cigar crusade 6:11 PM Thu, Jan 29, 2009 Dave Levinthal On Wednesday, Dallas Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway accused the maker of Black & Mild cigars of "killing" southern sector residents. Today, the corporate spokesman for cigar maker John Middleton returned our request for comment. He did his diplomatic best to address Caraway's "national appeal" to the company to stop southern sector residents from hollowing out Black & Mild cigars and filling them with marijuana. "The company is committed to the responsible use and marketing of this product," John Middleton spokesman...

How many counterfeit cigars find their way into the humidors of unwitting smokers each year? It's impossible to say for sure, but many experts put the number at more than three million -- in the United States alone. The streets of Havana teem with black-market smokes, most of them counterfeit, and even European markets are reporting an influx of fakes. To help you spot a counterfeit, we introduce Cigar Aficionado Online's Counterfeit Gallery.

Let's ROLL!

IPCPR Spreads Truth to Head Off Wisconsin Smoking Ban Wisconsin's local and state legislators need to wake up to the truth about smoking bans before it is too late, according to Chris McCalla, legislative director of the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Dealers Association. According to McCalla, smoking bans are bad for business, defile the constitutional rights of business owners and are based on erroneous assumptions regarding secondhand smoke. Madison, WI (PRWEB) October 19, 2008 -- Wisconsin's local and state legislators need to wake up to the truth about smoking bans before it is too late, according to Chris McCalla,...

A smoker who has 10 cigars day and enjoys a whisky with his morning tea has celebrated his 100th birthday.Mr Priestly began smoking at the age of nine, he has since smoked 153,000 cigars and 715,400 cigarettes Jack Priestly claims he has suffered no serious health problems related to his tobacco and alcohol habit. Mr Priestly, a widower and former baker, began smoking cigarettes when he was nine and claims to have smoked every day since. He changed to cigars in 1966 after he said he was told they were "healthier" and celebrated his century last Saturday.

CigarFox.com Offers Free Premium Cigar to Website Visitors Website visitors can earn a free premium cigar by providing answers to two-question survey and U.S. mailing address. Troy, MI (PRWEB) June 19, 2008 -- CigarFox.com, a pick-your-own premium cigar store, is currently offering website visitors the opportunity to "Earn a Free Cigar" by completing a short, 2-question survey which can easily be submitted in less than sixty seconds. Upon visiting the website, visitors may simply familiarize themselves with CigarFox.com; and then, click the "Earn a Free Cigar" link to complete the survey. CigarFox.com only ships to locations within the United States,...

2. The Cinema - $559.00 at Savvy Decorator Happy Father’s Day. A time to celebrate the presence of your father, stepfather, dad, husband, grandfather, or boyfriend in your life. And what better way to please him, than with a very classy gift? One that will make him say, “Wow, thanks Honey, son, kids, stepchildren, girlfriend, grandchildren, or partner, this is the best Father’s Day gift I’ve ever received. ”

During his 19 years as a pitcher in the major leagues, Luis Tiant became well known for "throwing smoke." Now deep into retirement, the 67-year-old is spending much of his time dealing in smoke of a more literal nature, as main pitchman for his own line of fine cigars. He and his son Daniel are now in their third year of selling El Tiante Cigars, a line of high-end stogies marketed to true aficionados. "They've been really good, we've been really lucky," said Tiant via cell phone as he headed to Kennebunkport, Maine, for a golf tournament with former President...

Cigar smoke seeps into sandwich shop Customers at a Northeast Heights sandwich shop have been getting a side order of cigar smoke with their meals since a cigar bar moved in next door. The problem began when an adjacent space in the strip mall at Louisiana and Menaul was occupied by the Albuquerque Cigar Club. “We’re losing business due to the smoke because people can’t stand the smoke,” says Renee Thomas, a waitress at The Cheese and Coffee Café. Thomas adds, though, that the owner of the cigar bar has been helpful. “They have tried to cooperate, but anything that...

Loose cigars are safe, cloned meat doesn't have to be labeled and English won't become Maryland's official language. Bills dealing with those issues are among the dozens that state lawmakers in Annapolis have rejected. When House members returned for a rare Saturday session, they found a long list of proposed bills that were rejected by committees, or in some cases, withdrawn by their sponsors. The losing bills include a formal recognition of English as the state's official language and a bill to ban the sale of cigars in packages of less than five.

Initiative Would Exempt Cigar Bars From Indoor Smoking Ban By Austin JenkinsOlympia, WA  March 19, 2008 3:28 p.m. Washington State’s two-year-old indoor smoking ban is facing a challenge. Cigar shop owners have filed a citizen initiative to roll-back part of the law.Dale Taylor is with the newly formed Cigar Association of Washington. He says the initiative would allow smoking in cigar shops, cigar bars, private clubs and service organizations like the Elks.Dale Taylor: “What we’re asking for here is a fair and reasonable exemption to the law that allows a cigar store, for instance like the one I work in,...

PONTIAC, Mich. — Normally, 1,500 cigars seized in a drug bust would be incinerated. The Oakland County sheriff wants Michigan troops serving in Iraq to do it for him. The county's Narcotics Enforcement Team seized the stogies during a traffic stop of a convicted drug felon in January. Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Thursday the cigars were thought to be illegal Cuban cigars but they turned out to be high-quality Dominicans.

Cigar festival lights up Havana Cigar aficionados celebrate Cuba's tradition of fine cigar making at a week-long festival in Havana. One-third of the 400 million hand-rolled cigars sold in the world each year are Cuban, but they are banned in the United States under four-decade-old trade sanctions against Cuba's communist government.

I feel like an absolute sheepdog, and not one of those Westminster Kennel Club sheepdogs, mind you, but one that's been herding farm animals all day and smells of mouse shit from sleeping in the barn. It's the incongruity that's making me feel a little self-conscious. I've just walked into this beautiful, expansive house and except for my friend, I'm the only one who's not wearing a suit; I'm the only one whose hair isn't Marine issue. No, I'm wearing ripped jeans, a T-shirt, and my comparatively long hair is lying on top of my head in its normal Dutch...

Why did President Clinton risk everything for a perky intern? _____Because he was in love. BY JACK HITT | Why did President Clinton wear that necktie? I'm referring to the $100 silk Zegna in audacious gold-and-navy patterns that Monica gave him with the remark, "When I see you wearing this tie, I'll know I'm close to your heart." Clinton donned it for a gun-ban rally in the Rose Garden the very morning Monica was testifying before the grand jury. The New York Times suspected that it was "a plea for solidarity," while Newsday thought it was a White House threat...

America feels Bill Clinton's pain. On New Year's Day, when many sports fans plant themselves on the couch to watch a day of college football games, the former president was stumping through the snows of Iowa for his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. As Bill Clinton put it, "This morning, as I was walking out to come here, Hillary looked at me and said, 'Finally, after all these years I know you do love me.' And I said, 'You do?' She said, "Absolutely, you're missing six football games today." Clinton laughed along with about 300 people at Ashford...

Ok, I just sat down to watch the Cowboys game and poured a Crown 7 and coke then lit up what I had hoped would be a decent cigar (cuban seed hand rolled) This thing is well, like just about every other cigar I have ever tasted, kinda bitter and burns my tongue. I should have bought some cheap ol "backwoods cigars" mellow and aromatic and all natural Whats a decent cigar? This cuban thing is like smoking a dog turd.

France fears arrival of cigarette-smoking ban By William Langley in Paris  Last Updated: 12:35am GMT 23/12/2007     The authentic French bistro-dweller's look of perpetual anguish requires that the eyes be directed upwards, the corners of the mouth drawn downwards, and a crumpled cigarette balanced vaguely on the horizontal. A guide to Western cigarette-smoking bansFrom next month, the expression will feature more despair and fewer cigarettes.   Brigitte Bardot avec cigarette   The day of reckoning has arrived for Europe's most incorrigible smokers. On January 1, it will become illegal to light up in bars, restaurants or nightclubs, and as...

Obesity is more dangerous than smoking and will dramatically shorten the lives of millions, a landmark study has found. While smoking reduces life by an average of ten years, the research says being seriously overweight can cut life expectancy by as much as 13 years. The Foresight report, written by 250 leading scientists, says Britain's obesity crisis is so severe that it would take at least 30 years to reverse. If current trends continue, by 2050 about 60 per cent of men, 50 per cent of women and 25 per cent of children in the UK will be clinically obese...

The ultimate water gun BY DAVE BARRY (This classic Dave Barry column was originally published May 5, 1996.) Just when you're starting to lose hope that the younger generation will ever amount to anything; just when you're asking yourself: ''Where are the leaders of tomorrow? Where is the next John Kennedy, the next John Wayne, the next John Denver, the next John LeMasters, who attended Pleasantville High School with me and was very good at math?''; just when you're starting to think that the most significant contributions that today's young people will make to society will be in the field...

Congressmen push a cigar tax, proving they've learned nothing from history. I've often wondered exactly how severe is Congress's case of historical amnesia. In late 2005 we found out that many members of Congress clearly couldn't remember anything previous to 1980, as witnessed by their call for 1970s-type price controls on oil. But last week we learned that Congress's historical amnesia is much worse than anyone feared. Clearly it extends back to as recently as the early 1990s. Nineteen-ninety was the dreadful year in which President George H.W. Bush abandoned his "Read my lips, no new taxes" pledge to cut...

RUSH: I smoke a variety of cigars. If you've just recently started, it probably means you prefer a mild cigar. I'm just going to give you names, because I don't want to get into sizes. That's a personal preference. I'm just going to give you brands and you go pick out the size you want. Between these brands you will find quality that a new cigar smoker will thoroughly enjoy. â–º Macanudo. It's very, very mild. (If you want something mild, you can't go wrong with it.) â–º You also can't go wrong with Diamond Crown. They make some...

A funny thing happened on the way to the airport. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was on his way out of town, after a quick trip to Ottawa to meet Prime Minister Stephen Harper, when he decided to stop his five-car motorcade for a moment. He got out and walked into the Westin Hotel to get a cigar. It was a Cuban, the kind that can't be found on the shelves of American cigar stores because of a long-standing embargo -- and the kind that Americans aren't legally allowed to smoke, even while away from home. ... An aide who was...

Model Minority: Smokers A historic S.F. cigar shop in the Financial District gets complaints from sensitive nonsmokers working nearby. By Martin Kuz Published: May 9, 2007 You think it's hard out here for a pimp? Sheeit, bro. Try hawking cigars sometime. You'll go back to pimping faster than Don Imus can say — well, you can guess. Joe Barron knows the struggle. He co-owns Grant's Tobacconists, one of the few remaining places in San Francisco where cigar and pipe aficionados can light up indoors. But while a pimp worries only about cops, Barron must contend with the longer arm of...

Senate panel approves ban on cigar bars By Rocky Mountain News May 1, 2007 The (Colorado) Senate Appropriations Committee approved and sent to the full Senate today a bill that would outlaw cigar bars. < -- SNIP -- > The smoking ban currently has three big exemptions — casinos, cigar bars and the smoking lounge at Denver International Airport. The exemption was aimed at protecting only a handful of cigar bars, including Churchill's at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, but many other bars have latched on to it, according to Kimberly Hills of the Colorado Tobacco Education and Prevention...

America's news media, an amoral university, an opportunistic district attorney, and a police department that seems to have collaborated in framing innocent students all combined to nearly destroy the lives of three innocent young men -- members of the Duke University lacrosse team. The attorney general of North Carolina announced that all charges -- of rape, sexual assault and whatever other charges a mendacious young woman got Mike Nifong to bring against the Duke lacrosse team players -- were being dropped. He pronounced the students "innocent," not merely "not guilty." And the attorney general also declared Nifong a "rogue prosecutor."...

The Cigar Box Guitar Written by JJ Published April 13, 2007 Music and cigars aren’t something I usually equate with each other. In fact, cigars are almost the last type of smoke I think of when I turn the dial of the radio. If I hear Ryan Adams, I imagine him on stage surrounded by a grayish cloud, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. If I hear Bing Crosby, I imagine that his "White Christmas" also involves a black pipe. And, if I hear Willie Nelson, I think of a type of smoke sure to make him hungry for some...

Surprised? You have good company. Many Americans think their government's 45-year-old embargo blocks all trade with the communist government, but the United States is the top supplier of food and agricultural products to Cuba. In fact, many Cubans depend on rations grown in Arkansas and North Dakota for their rice and beans. Since December 1999, governors, senators and congressmen from at least 28 U.S. states have visited Cuba, most to talk trade. They keep coming: Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman was flying in Sunday with a farm delegation. Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter of Idaho plans a visit next month. Washington's sanctions...

Two Brothers to debut Kinky cigars By Troy Brakefield, McKinney Courier-Gazette (Created: Friday, March 23, 2007 3:09 AM CDT) Former gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman will debut his new brand of cigars, Kinky's Select, this afternoon at Two Brothers Cigar shop in Plano. With his almost iconic image etched in Texas' popular culture, it seemed like a no-brainer for the Kinkster to put his moniker on a stogie. Two Brothers Manager Gary Irvin summed up the reasoning: “Have you ever seen a picture of Kinky without a cigar?” Rick Baldelli, owner of Two Brothers Cigars, said Friedman chose the cigar because...

Cigar Aficionado Launches New Blog Section Tuesday March 20, 11:05 am ET Topics Will Concentrate on Cigars and All Aspects of the Good Life NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cigar Aficionado announced today the launch of its blog section at www.cigaraficionado.com. The blogs feature four of Cigar Aficionado's senior editors and will cover all aspects of the good life, including, of course, cigars. Executive editor Gordon Mott, European editor James Suckling, senior editor David Savona and senior features editor Jack Bettridge will chair the discussions. The topics are limitless and may range from counterfeit cigars to a new spirit on the market, to...

HAVANA, March 3 (Reuters) - It is the closest you get to a capitalist stock market in communist-run Cuba: dozens of wealthy merchants bidding high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of five ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 533,000 euros ($703,560) for the country's health care system. The five humidors sold like hot cakes even though, for the first time in nine years, they did not bear the signature of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who has not appeared in public since...

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) believes it is his right as a Muslim to be sworn into Congress with the Quran. But apparently, the freshman lawmaker doesn’t believe it’s Rep. Tom Tancredo’s (R-Colo.) right to smoke a cigar in his congressional office. Ellison’s office called the Capitol Hill Police on Tancredo last Wednesday night as Tancredo was in his office smoking a cigar. The lawmakers have neighboring offices on the first floor of the Longworth House Office Building. Tancredo was still stunned a day later. “It’s very bizarre,” said Tancredo, who has never met Ellison. “Seemed to me not a good...

The other day, one of my readers asked “Why do you have to be so political and controversial in every column? Why can’t you just relax?” Well, those are good questions. And maybe they’re best answered with a non-political column on my favorite cigars of 2006 – a column written for my fellow cigar-smoking friend Dennis Prager. And, since I’m not being political, this is also for my favorite fat lesbian Rosie O’Donnell. (Author’s Note: This column was sponsored, in part, by Donald Trump Enterprises, which has since filed for bankruptcy after an unsuccessful suit for sexual hair-assment against...

Bay City shop sends cigars to troops BAY CITY, Mich. -- A red cigar box next to the cash register in a tobacco shop here holds more than $300. The donations, collected by Timothy's Fine Tobaccos owner Tim Socier, is just the start of a fund to send fine cigars to soldiers in Iraq. A customer told Socier that troops often find time for a break above the streets in rooftop hideaways. Socier hopes the cigars help the soldiers relax. "It's the only place they can get some sun and just have five minutes to themselves to enjoy a good...

When Juan Penton took the witness stand this week, he described himself as a Hialeah carpenter who made wooden cigar boxes stamped ''made in Cuba'' to sell as novelty gifts. But on Friday, a dozen Miami federal jurors found him guilty of selling $3,000 worth of counterfeit cigars in those imitation boxes. They concluded he was essentially copying famous Cuban cigar trademarks such as Montecristo, which are registered in the United States by its largest cigar producer. The David-and-Goliath legal tale pitted Penton not only against the U.S. government but also the giant cigar company that funded part of the...

For about five years in the 1990s, the cigar industry luxuriated in a wild sales boom when celebrities and trendy 20-somethings decided that puffing imported, hand-rolled stogies was The Next Big Thing. The bubble burst when the supply of quality tobacco couldn't keep up with demand. The market became flooded with inferior but pricey cigars hastily rolled with lower grade tobacco, as many of the poseurs and neophytes moved on to something else. In the years since, the industry has enjoyed a quiet, steady climb. The bad product is mostly gone, the market settled and refined tobacco growing methods make...

Chris Wallace (FOX TV) just stated on the Monday morning news segment of Fox TV (aired in the 7:00 a.m. EST hour) that, not only did Bill Clinton retain his anger at Wallace after the interview was over and the cameras were off (despite Wallace trying to part on friendly terms), Clinton absolutely fumed at his own personal staff, right then and there while still on the Fox TV premises, for getting him into the interview with Wallace where he had earlier lost his head.Wallace said Clinton's blow up at his staff for this mistake was very visible and...

Former President Bill Clinton turns 60 years old on August 19. Just don’t remind him. "In just a few days, I will be 60 years old. I hate it, but it’s true,” Clinton said at a world AIDS conference in Toronto. "For most of my working life, I was the youngest person doing what I was doing. Then one day I woke up and I was the oldest person in every room.” Clinton was a youthful 46 when he was first elected president in 1992. "Now that I have more days behind me than ahead of me, I try to...

Mel Smith surrenders to the smoking police By Jack Malvern, Arts Reporter Mel Smith, who is playing Churchill, smokes out of a window in the Assembly Rooms after the performance of Allegiance ASHLEY COOMBES / EPICSCOTLAND CHURCHILL did not win the war by kowtowing to pettifogging bureaucracy. He smoked that cigar wherever he pleased, and puffed its cloud with the insouciance of a man who knew he was in charge. But then the Greatest Englishman only had to deal with the likes of Hitler and Stalin; he had the good fortune to live in the days before the Scottish Parliament...

Excerpt - LITTLE ROCK - Gov. Mike Huckabee, who successfully pushed for a statewide workplace smoking ban earlier this year, predicted Wednesday that cigarettes eventually won't be sold because of their health risks. "I think the day will come when we probably won't" sell cigarettes, Huckabee said on his monthly call-in radio show. "If cigarettes were introduced to the marketplace today, they wouldn't be sold. They'd never make it because what we didn't know when they were first created, sold and marketed is just how deadly harmful they were." Huckabee was responding to a caller's question of why cigarettes are...