INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana  January 24, 2011 – A proposed statewide smoking ban in Indiana is filled with unintended consequences that will negatively impact the rights of business owners and their customers, and losses of jobs, businesses and state and local taxes, says the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association.

The Indiana House committee voted to endorse HB 1018 which prohibits smoking in public places and indoor work sites excluding casinos, horse tracks and other gambling facilities and tobacco stores. The bill now goes to the full House for review before being taken up by the State Senate where previous smoking ban attempts have failed in the past.

“We certainly appreciate the fact that the bill exempts our members’ cigar stores, but, in all fairness, it would still take away the rights of Indiana citizens and business owners. In addition, it will result in lost business, lost jobs and lost tax revenues across the state.  Is this the time to be passing unnecessary legislation that hurts our economy?” asked Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR.

McCalla noted that the current exemptions were included because a nonpartisan fiscal impact statement estimated the ban would cut state gambling tax revenues by up to $200 million annually.

“And that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” said McCalla. “Even the Federal Reserve Bank has officially noted the negative business and jobs impact that such bans have on local and statewide economies.”

McCalla explained that legislated smoking bans are not only unnecessary, they attack the personal rights of smokers and non-smokers, alike.  It is the right of every business owner to declare their businesses smoke-free or not, he added.

 “It is not up to government to make that decision,” declared McCalla, “and customers can decide for themselves if they want to patronize a place that does or does not allow smoking on the premises.  I think people are getting fed up with government telling them what they can and cannot do,” McCalla said.

In response to Brown’s claims that smoking bans do not hurt revenue at bars and restaurants, McCalla cited the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis regarding the proven negative effects on businesses from legislated smoking bans.

“The Fed has found that, based on impartial data generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, significant employment declines result from forced smoking bans, especially in bars and restaurants due to lost revenues,” he said.

###

Lincoln, Nebraska  January 21, 2011 – The results of a poll of 500 Nebraskans are being touted by anti-smoking forces as justification for tobacco tax  increases statewide but the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association is touting those results as ‘phony.’

The poll was paid for by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an $8.4 billion organization that gets its funds from Johnson & Johnson which makes the leading brand of anti-smoking medication.   Released last week, the poll was conducted by a coalition of anti-smoking organizations.  It says 73 percent of the Nebraska voters surveyed favor raising the tax on cigarettes by $1.35 per pack of cigarettes. The current Nebraska tax on cigarettes is 64 cents per pack. The coalition is urging the Nebraska legislature to increase tobacco taxes across the board.

“The conclusions drawn from the poll results are phony for many reasons,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR. “First of all, the poll’s funding source has a vested interest in forcing people to give up the pleasure of smoking which will result from higher tobacco taxes,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR.  “Second, they are saying that 365 people should dictate higher taxes on those tobacco products by the citizens of Nebraska. Ridiculous!”

McCalla said the questions in the poll were skewed to lead the participants to reach the conclusions that the coalition and funding source wanted in the first place.

“Any increase in tobacco taxes will cause sales to fall which will result in lost jobs, lost businesses and lost tax revenues, not increased revenues as the coalition claims. That’s not only common sense, it is a mathematical certainty,” he said. “You can’t have it both ways.  For example, federal tobacco taxes currently fund children’s health programs and any decrease in those tax revenues would cause a shortfall in funding those programs.”

McCalla added that the IPCPR is an association of independent cigar store owners and manufacturers, most of whom are small, mom-and-pop tobacconists who primarily sell premium cigars, pipes and tobacco.

“The coalition is pulling numbers out of a hat when they claim that a tax increase would prevent more children from smoking and save on so-called tobacco-related health care and smoking-caused deaths.  They make statements that simply cannot be proven. But, by saying them often enough, many people tend to believe what they say although there are no facts to support their claims,” McCalla said.

###

Raleigh, North Carolina  January 18, 2011 – The Raleigh, North Carolina City Council is considering a ban on smoking in parks or greenways owned or operated by the city but the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association says it has a better idea – post courtesy messages, instead. The matter is expected to come up for a vote at tonight’s meeting.

“There are so many things wrong with legislated smoking bans,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR.  “Such bans result in job losses, losses in revenue to local, state and federal coffers, and loss of constitutional rights given to citizens by the state and federal governments.  Worst of all, claims regarding the alleged negative effects of secondhand smoke – especially in wide open spaces like parks – are more than inaccurate, they are downright misleading.”

McCalla says there is no need to ban smoking in such outdoors areas and, even if it were enacted, there would be virtually no practical way to enforce it. 

“The oh-so-brief encounters of random whiffs of smoke will not harm anyone.  After all, even the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of Labor has established safe levels of secondhand smoke.  Some people just don’t like the smell of smoke, but there’s no reason that the rights of smokers should be trumped by a few non-smokers.  Besides, a good cigar or pipe usually emits quite an enjoyable odor.”

Some have argued that children are apt to pick up cigarette or cigar butts and put them in their mouths.

“I don’t believe that is a real concern as opposed to a manufactured one.  And, even if it were real, there are littering laws that, if enforced, would eliminate that alleged problem,” McCalla said.

McCalla asked, “What if someone complained about the odor of cheap perfume or wet dogs?  What if someone complained about seriously obese people taking up more than their share of seating space in the shelters and on buses?

“Imposing a smoking ban in public parks is just one more step on a slippery slope that could lead to even more ridiculous conclusions,” he said.

Instead, McCalla believes posting signs urging smokers to display courtesy to non-smokers with whom they share bus shelters is the civil way to manage the situation.

“This way, everybody wins.”

###

Frankfort, Kentucky January 13, 2011 – When lawmakers don’t want to deal with tough issues like jobs creation and balanced budgets, they turn to proposing things like smoking bans and, in the process, continue to proliferate false information and misunderstandings regarding the economic and health-related impacts of such legislation, according to the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association.

A bill has been introduced in the Kentucky state legislature by Rep. Susan Westrom of Lexington seeking to impose a no-exception smoking ban in all indoor workplaces and public places, including bars and restaurants.  Westrom admits the bill will go nowhere in this year’s legislature but has proposed it, nonetheless.  Currently, in Kentucky, state laws prohibit smoking in government offices, universities, and the state capitol, except in designated smoking areas.

“Kentucky unemployment is nearly 11 percent, yet some legislators seem to be more interested in creating job-killing bills like smoking bans which take away property owners’ constitutional rights to determine for themselves if smoking should be allowed in their places of business,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR, an association of some 2,000 neighborhood mom-and-pop premium cigar retailers, manufacturers and distributors.

Some $300,000 of federal stimulus money has been used to finance anti-smoking efforts in Kentucky instead of job creation, according to Jim Waters, vice president of policy and communications for the Bluegrass Institute, an independent free-market think tank.

Waters also has reported that “the ‘science’ behind the economic effect of a smoking ban is questionable at best and dishonest at worst,” according to Ken Moellman, a spokesman for Northern Kentucky Choice.

“The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has shown that government-imposed smoking bans exact a negative economic impact on businesses frequented by smokers,” wrote Waters in a July post. (http://www.bipps.org/article.php/2378 )

Regarding the health implications related to secondhand smoke, McCalla cited a post by Dr. Michael Siegel, an anti-smoking advocate and professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at Boston University’s School of Public Health.  Despite his stance against smoking, generally, Dr. Siegel has been highly critical of many claims about secondhand smoke, including those made by the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing.

According to Dr. Siegel, the statements he called “outright lies” include the following: “Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger a heart attack … (and) after two hours of secondhand smoke exposure, the heart rate speeds up and leads to abnormal heart rhythms (which can lead to death).”

Dr. Siegel also wrote that no evidence exists to support claims by the current Surgeon General that even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause (a) heart attack and that inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can … lead to cancer. (http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/finalists-for-2010-lie-of-year-award.html)

###

Columbus, Georgia  December 15, 2010 – A renowned member of the Boston University School of Public Health and members of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association are challenging as unscientific and potentially unethical this week’s report from the Office of Dr. Regina Benjamin, the U.S. Surgeon General, about the effects of tobacco smoke.

The report said that even brief exposure to secondhand smoke – as from one cigarette - can cause cardiovascular disease, trigger acute cardiac events and can damage one’s DNA and lead to cancer. These and other parts of the report are being challenged by the IPCPR which is comprised of some 2,000 members who are primarily small family businesses that operate neighborhood cigar stores or manufacture premium cigars, pipes, tobacco and related accoutrements.

“The mixed signals and misinformation coming from Dr. Benjamin’s office lead one to question everything they say and do,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR.

McCalla cited the fact that one of the first actions of President Barack Obama’s administration was to push through draconian increases in tobacco taxes to fund an expanded children’s healthcare program.  Then the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was passed, giving new powers to the Federal Drug Administration to reduce smoking in the United States.  Now, the Surgeon General is saying, in effect, that walking past a smoker on the street could cause a person to develop cardiovascular disease and cancer.

“It is simply untrue to assert that brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause such results,” added Prof. Michael Siegel of Boston University’s School of Public Health. “If there is no safe level of exposure to any carcinogen, that would include exposure to automobile exhaust, the sun’s rays, benzene, radon in homes, arsenic in drinking water and many other everyday items.”

Prof. Siegel, who is not associated with the tobacco industry or IPCPR,  also said those statements are untrue and that nothing in the actual report supports those assertions.

“There is nothing in the report itself which … supports the assertions that a brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause cardiovascular disease or cancer.  These assertions … have been manufactured to create a sense of public hysteria, but they are unsupported by any science whatsoever,” he wrote in his blog at www.tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com on Dec. 13, 2010. “This is the second time that the Office of the Surgeon General has misrepresented and distorted the science of … secondhand smoke.  The press release which accompanied the Surgeon General’s 2006 report on secondhand smoke made the same false assertion,” he said.

McCalla also cited the fact that, prior to her nomination as U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Benjamin served as a trustee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation which contributes tens of millions of dollars every year to promote smoking bans and fund anti-tobacco groups in the United States and internationally.

“Why is this a potential conflict of interest? Because the foundation’s sister organization is Johnson & Johnson, maker of Nicorette, a nicotine replacement product,” he said.

###

San Jose, California Nov. 23, 2010 – Misinformation is running amok in defense of San Jose, California’s consideration of a licensing program and limited public view of tobacco products, says the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association.

“It’s been written in justification of these onerous measures that ‘tobacco related diseases’ are the number one cause of preventable death in the United States,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR, an association of more than 2,000 retailers and manufacturers of premium cigars, tobaccos and related accessories. “First of all, there’s no such thing as a strictly ‘tobacco related disease.’  Secondly, obesity is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., not tobacco, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

McCalla said that claims made by the San Jose city staff that a licensing program for tobacco products and hiding all tobacco products from public view would help prevent underage smoking are “beyond reason.”

“Think about it. The way to prevent underage smoking is to enforce the laws already on the books.  If it costs too much to enforce the existing laws, raise the penalties high enough to pay for enforcement.   The only thing these two measures would do is put a lot of good, law-abiding people out of business – small business owners who sell premium cigars almost exclusively,” he said.

“The vast majority of our members own cigar stores, small businesses that cater to adults only.  We welcome law enforcement and inspectors to visit our members’ establishments as often as they like.  Our members have strict policies against selling tobacco products of any kind to minors. Whereas convenience stores often derive only 20 percent of their overall sales from tobacco products, most of our members’ shops depend on tobacco products – like premium cigars – for some 90 percent of their revenues.

“And to force us to not display our tobacco products would have a devastating effect on our business. It would be like an automobile dealership not able to display its cars,” McCalla explained.

In a letter to city officials, McCalla urged that the proposals be dropped entirely. Failing that, he urged an alternate plan that would exempt certain businesses from the licensing provision and force certain other businesses that sell tobacco products to be age-restricted.

“Exemptions to any such city licensing or prevention of product display should be made for any business holding a state tobacco excise tax permit and whose business derives at least 75 percent of its revenues from the sale of tobacco products.  Also, the ordinance should include that such establishments should be for adults only,” he said.

McCalla indicated that other states and local jurisdictions have passed similar legislation.  He cited the District of Columbia as having approved such provisions to its self-service display ban ordinance.

“Law abiding adults who enjoy the pleasures and socialization of premium cigars and pipes should not be prevented from doing so.  Ours are unique businesses that need reasonable parameters so they may continue operating their shops according to their individual business plans and models,” he said.

###

October 27, 2010 Columbus, Georgia – Twenty-five tobacconists nationwide have earned the designation of Certified Retail Tobacconist from Tobacconist University, the official curriculum resource of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association.

The group includes the following:

• Jorge Luis Valdez of Sabor Havana Cigars in Doral, Florida
• Alex Diaz, Greg Hernke, Neal Thompson, K. Allen Byrd, Perry Lowe and Jeff Borysiewicz of Corona Cigar Company in Orlando, Florida
• Douglas Fiore and Rose Ann Edmiston of Winston’s Humidor in Midlothian, Virginia
• Phillip Ledbetter of Up Down Cigar in Chicago, Illinois
• Alex B. Mayer of Wooden Indian Tobacco Shop in Havertown, Pennsylvania
• Russell Salvatore of A Little Taste of Cuba in New Hope, Pennsylvania
• Ronald Alred of Mojito Cigar Lounge in Cave Creek, Arizona
• Michael McCarthy of MJM Fine Cigars & Tobacco in Palm Harbor, Florida
• Luis Roberto Molina of Habana Port Cigar Merchants in Covington, Louisiana
• Therina Himes of Custom Blends in Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania
• David Kleehamer and Robert A. Roth of Nice Ash Cigars & Lounge in Depew, New York
• Zack Photakis of Owl Shop Tobacconists in Worcester, Massachusetts
• Cindy Pinkerton of Snow Mountain Smoke Shop in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Robert E. Wood of the Las Vegas Paiute Smoke Shop in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Jetmira Kaziu of Cigar Masters in Boston, Massachusetts
• Wayne Young of Chesapeake Cigar Company in Edgewater, Maryland
• Danny Ditkowich of Tobacco Plaza, Ltd. In Great Neck, New York and
• Erich Orris of Tinder Box 420 in Rapid City, South Dakota

These tobacconists are among some 500 selected professional tobacconists nationwide who have been awarded CRT recognition after participating in an academic curriculum and testing process that enables them to achieve superior technical and marketing knowledge about premium cigars, pipes, premium tobacco and related accessories.

ABOUT TOBACCONIST UNIVERSITY
Tobacconist University is an independent teaching and research organization dedicated to preserving the traditions and enhancing the knowledge and skills of retailers and consumers who appreciate luxury tobacco and adhere to a high code of industry ethics and standards. More information at www.tobacconistuniversity.org

ABOUT IPCPR
The IPCPR is an association principally comprised of more than 2,000 owners and employees of small, family-owned cigar stores and businesses primarily engaged in the manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution of premium cigars, pipes, loose tobacco and related items. More information at www.ipcpr.org

###

Ask Ron Melendi how it’s going and he’ll ask you back, “With what?” 

“That legislative thing you’re working on,” you say. 

“Which one,” he asks, “the smoking ban extension… the flavored tobacco ban… or the signage issue in New York City… or the cigar tax issue in Albany?”

As head of the New York (State) Tobacconist Association, Melendi has his hands full dealing with city and state issues.  His other job is running De La Concha, a cigar store at 1390 Avenue of the Americas in New York City.

“I don’t know how we’d deal with all these city and state issues if we weren’t organized as a state association with support from all the major industry players like the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association, Cigar Association of America, Cigar Rights of America, and several manufacturers. We’ve got around 50 members of the association now but sure could use help from other retailers in the state.  I know they’re rooting for us, but they need to get into the game before the clock runs out,” he said.

Melendi said it appears that they’re making progress on securing a state $1 tax cap on premium cigars.  Two bills have been presented – one in the Senate and one in the Assembly – and the CAA is submitting an economic impact study that supports the $1 tax cap concept. 

“We’ll have to wait until after the elections to see how this turns out,” he said. “We’ve gotten indications of support for our cause from (gubernatorial candidate Andrew) Cuomo and the State Senate looks to be picking up some six seats which will create a better balance of power between the Senate and the Assembly.  How important is that?  Without it, the Democrats will likely redistrict the state and the Republicans will be out of power for another 25 years.  I don’t care what your politics are, we need to be at least a two party state or every small business – including tobacconists – will pack up and move somewhere else.”

On the flavored tobacco front, the Association is working with the New York City Council to get cigar stores officially exempted from the ban.  Melendi is hopeful this will happen early next year.

Perhaps the most publicly visible issue Melendi’s group is currently addressing is the attempt in New York City to extend the smoking ban to include parks, beaches and outdoor plazas.

A recent hearing on the proposal drew written testimony delivered in person by Joe Rowe, executive director of the IPCPR; Glynn Loope, Executive Director of the CRA, and Melendi.  The city’s representatives were grilled by audience members who challenged virtually all of their self-styled justifications for the ban extension.  Several comprises were offered but are not expected to hold up.

Instead, Melendi and his group are meeting Tuesday, October 26 with the sponsor of the original bill in an attempt to hammer out a more realistic compromise.  Regardless, expectations are that at least one or two more hearings will be held before a vote is taken in City Council, compromise or not.

“That vote could take place yet this year.  Meanwhile, we look forward to continued support from IPCPR, CAA, CRA and manufacturers,” Melendi said, “and fully expect to see our membership continue to grow to encompass all New York State retailers.”

To see the testimony of industry executives, please click as follows:

Ron Melendi

Joe Rowe

Glynn Loope

###

 

Pelham, Alabama  October 19, 2010 – The International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association strongly suggests that Pelham Mayor Don Murphy and the Alabaster City Council change their reading habits to include factually balanced materials when it comes to smoking bans and secondhand smoke.

That position was taken by the IPCPR when Mayor Murphy, who announced this week he is considering a citywide ban on smoking in public places, was quoted as saying “Everything I am reading (is) about how bad secondhand smoke is for everyone.” At the same time, down the road, the Alabaster City Council is holding public hearings on a public smoking ban in its city.

“These people are either out of touch with reality or they are limited their reading to the extremely biased and falsely slanted materials provided by prohibitionists,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR, an association of some 2,000 tobacconists, largely small businesses engaged in the manufacturing and retailing of premium cigars, pipes, tobacco and related accoutrements.

McCalla said no studies exist that support the prohibitionists’ wild claims that secondhand smoke represents any health risks indoors, let alone outdoors.

“Sometimes lawmakers feel obliged to give the appearance that they are doing something to justify their existence when all they are doing is wasting everyone’s time on silly matters like this,” said McCalla.

 “Surveys show that legislated smoking bans ruin more businesses than they help,” he said.  “That’s why we are against any form of legislated smoking bans and urge civility and courtesy between smokers and non-smokers.  This is nothing but ‘control creep,’ where prohibitionists grab a piece at a time at our rights to run our own lives.”

McCalla cited regulations of OSHA – the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor – that declared safe levels of secondhand smoke to be up to 25,000 times safer than air quality found in the average bar or restaurant.

“Many restaurant and bar owner already declare their premises as non-smoking and that’s just fine,” McCalla said. “However, when their rights as property owners are usurped by petty legislation that is based on false information, it’s just not the way things should be.  Whether you are a smoker or not, you should be against legislated smoking bans because the deprivation of this basic, inherent right is the first step down the slippery slope of loss of rights in other areas of our lives.”

 ###

Cambridge, Massachusetts  October 13, 2010 – Like lemmings leaping into the sea, the Cambridge, Massachusetts City Council is following New York City’s attempt to extend the statewide indoor smoking ban and include the city’s public spaces, including parks.

Cambridge City Councilor Marjorie Decker proposed the ban extension last week and a policy order was passed by the council.  City Manager Bob Healy is exploring the ban’s feasibility with the Cambridge Public Health Department before the ban extension is actually voted on.

“Ridiculous,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association.  “This is just another twisted attempt by lazy lawmakers to control people with unnecessary legislation based on unsubstantiated assumptions.”

McCalla said no studies exist that prove secondhand smoke represents any health risks indoors, let alone outdoors.  He added that laws against littering already exist and should be enforced “without wasting any more time on silly matters like this.  Jobs are at stake, businesses are at risk and for what?  Because legislators don’t listen to the people and they don’t want to confront real issues like job creation and proper budget management,” he added.

The IPCPR represents some 2,000 retailers and manufacturers of premium cigars, pipes, tobacco and related accoutrements.  For the most part, they are small, family businesses, passed on from generation to generation.  They are neighborhood businesses that employ neighborhood residents and family members serving neighborhood customers who enjoy a good cigar or bowlful of pipe tobacco every now and then.

“Surveys show that legislated smoking bans ruin more businesses than they help,” he said.  “That’s why we are against any form of legislated smoking bans and urge civility and courtesy between smokers and non-smokers.  This is nothing but ‘control creep,’ where prohibitionists grab a piece at a time at our rights to run our own lives.”

McCalla said it was a non-argument to indicate that because some other cities in the United States have legislated such smoking bans, Cambridge and New York City should do the same.

“There’s no leadership in following the wrong moves of others,” McCalla said. “They throw numbers around like they are meaningful statistics as a means to justify their ends.  Those so-called statistics are fictional estimates made of lies from whole cloth by people and organizations who have everything to gain from such bans, primarily financial gains.  Healy is doing what he has to do, but Decker and Sam Lipson, director of environmental health, are way off base with this one. “

###