Cigar enthusiasts should be granted the same freedom as alcohol and cannabis users

[El Presidente]

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/03/07/cigar-enthusiasts-should-be-granted-the-same-freedom-as-alcohol-and-cannabis-users/

Cigar enthusiasts should be granted the same freedom as alcohol and cannabis users

 

Recently introduced legislation, Assembly Bill 935, would ban the sale of all tobacco  products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2007, effectively enacting a prospective  tobacco prohibition in California.

If the intent of AB 935 is to improve public health, a noble goal, it may be applauded.  However, while there are legal and other questions about the bill, what is not in doubt is the perpetual failure of prohibition as a public policy strategy.

We should know better. Alcohol prohibition lasted from 1920 to 1933, when the 21st Amendment was ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and permitting states to decide  for themselves whether to allow alcohol sales.

Similarly, in 1937, the U.S. effectively imposed a cannabis prohibition, by banning its sale if federal tax had not been paid. While the federal government has not acted to  legalize cannabis, 21 states, including California, have taken matters into their own  hands and now allow recreational cannabis sales.

 

While the alcohol and cannabis prohibitions made criminals out of millions of U.S.  citizens, they did not end alcohol or cannabis use. The reason for this policy failure is rather simple. Both alcohol and cannabis use can involve risk.

Millions of adult Americans, however, choose to accept these risks, as they do both  when using numerous other products and engaging in various activities. They exercise  personal responsibility without causing any personal or societal harm. Risks exist, but  they are known and, for the vast majority of adults using these products, accounted for.  This is what distinguishes these two products from substances like fentanyl or heroin.

One can certainly debate the relative benefits and risks of alcohol or cannabis use.  That’s not the point. The typical alcohol or cannabis user simply enjoys the flavor  and/or feeling derived from use of these legal products. Adults knowingly make decisions about health tradeoffs every day. Do I have a salad for lunch today, or go with a burger? Exercise or sleep in?

This brings me to the proposed tobacco prohibition. Alcohol is legal in the U.S. and  cannabis is becoming legal, both with appropriate restrictions. There are thousands of  laws governing the sale and distribution of alcohol.

Cannabis is catching up rapidly. Most importantly, sales of both products are banned to  persons under the age of 21. We have realized that, while both products have some  potential risks, it is far better to make them legal, taxable, and regulated, rather than  leaving sale and distribution to illicit markets.

But AB 935 takes the opposite approach. Prohibitions are the “meat cleaver” of public  policy and, in the case of cigars, the proposal ignores two critical facts. First, as a result  of greater enforcement and educational efforts, youth usage of cigars is at an all-time  low. One government survey showed that in 2021 only 0.7% of 12- to 17-year-olds had  used a cigar in the past 30 days.

 

Second, adults act responsibly when it comes to enjoying cigars; indeed, most tend to  smoke only occasionally. According to a study examining federal survey data, only  1.3% of adults report “frequent use” of cigars. For premium cigar smokers, the number  is even lower, with only 0.4% reporting “frequent use.”

Rather than the prohibitionist approach proposed in AB 935, history, and good public policy show that a lighter touch is in order for cigars. Cigar enthusiasts exercising personal choice and responsibility should be extended the same regulatory prerogatives extended to alcohol and cannabis users.

David M. Ozgo, an economist, is the president of the Cigar Association of America. 

[dominattorney]

 

[canadianbeaver]

In February of this year, spent two weeks near San Diego, California. Of that trip, 3 of the days moved to Las Vegas and 2 to Palm Springs. Every day or night we visited a different cigar lounge and met with BOTL.😍

Smoking anything is not allowed on beaches or in public outside spaces. The lounges anywhere are terrific though.

 

 

Maybe since it is not our interest we did not find out where you can smoke pot. But we only smelled it once or twice the whole time?

I only make these points as these are observations right now for California cigar smoking. In Canada? Forget it anywhere, anytime.

CB

[cigaraholic]

It’s about time for the recreational drug users bill of rights!

[Ford2112]

Oh they smoke crack and meth on the streets of California. Cigars and Marijuana are fine. I smoke cigars wherever I want outside. Never had a complaint and I'm in central cali, land of the uptight.

[Duxnutz]

On 3/9/2023 at 11:35 AM, Ford2112 said:

Oh they smoke crack and meth on the streets of California. Cigars and Marijuana are fine. I smoke cigars wherever I want outside. Never had a complaint and I'm in central cali, land of the uptight.

Just a few days ago I set up shop in a beach park in Honolulu, away from the crowds and actually somewhat close to some pot smoker with the wind blowing away.

Barely lit up and a cop on a bike stopped to tell me to put it out. I moved to another place a little further away but found it funny they didn’t move the pot guy away and yet the homeless can basically do whatever they want. 
 

 

[Arabian]

8 hours ago, Duxnutz said:

Just a few days ago I set up shop in a beach park in Honolulu, away from the crowds and actually somewhat close to some pot smoker with the wind blowing away.

Barely lit up and a cop on a bike stopped to tell me to put it out. I moved to another place a little further away but found it funny they didn’t move the pot guy away and yet the homeless can basically do whatever they want. 

Crazy times. They have safe sites and needles for injections, but you can’t pass a brother a natural gift from mother earth. 

[Chibearsv]

8 hours ago, Duxnutz said:

Barely lit up and a cop on a bike stopped to tell me to put it out.

I'm amazed at this. What happened in Hawaii that necessitated outdoor smoking restrictions? I haven't been to Maui in a 4 or 5 years but I never got hassled for smoking a cigar. As you describe, I always looked for a more isolated spot as a courtesy to others and I always made sure to properly dispose of the butts and labels and never had a problem. Even at my timeshare, I'd smoke at night in a chaise on the beach farthest away from the pool area and no one ever said a thing. I always thought of the islands as the land of freedom as long as you showed respect and courtesy for the land and for others. I don't get it. Were the beaches covered in cigar butts or something?