Florida Speaks Out Against FDA & Premium Cigars

[Vroomp]

http://www.cigar-coop.com/2014/07/cigar-news-florida-governors-office.html

[The Burn Ward]

I'm happy to see that.

[Camshaft83]

Way to go Florida  

[ntanner]

That's a step in the right direction.

[lubrix]

Good to hear!.

[Mojo66]

A model to follow. Way to go FLA  

Hope the other Governors offices follow suit but, somehow, I strongly doubt that.

[toby2]

at least they stood up for one of their oldest corporate tax payers and employers. PA should step up. We know Connecticut won't.....

[timpellis]

I don't think PA speaking up will do anything, at least not the Gov here.  He is the least popular Gov in the country right now and likely to lose reelection in the fall which no sitting gov has done in a long time here.  Florida is more important because it is a 50/50 state in 2016, PA will go blue.  Both Sens here are fighting against it (1 Dem and 1 Rep) that might be the best and most effective thing you get from PA.

[gitfiddl]

Camshaft83 - 7/7/2014  5:48 PM

Way to go Florida  

We do what we can.

 

[gitfiddl]

I'm not in a "googling mood", but if my memory serves me, the only somewhat major players left in the Tampa area are JC Newman and Luis Martinez.  Altadis shut down the Hav-A-Tampa facility around 2009, citing Barry's signing of SCHIP as the back-breaker.  The Miami area still has three or four (Fuente, Pepin Garcia, George Rico, etc), and Swisher still runs here in Jacksonville. Other than that, the rest of Florida's once massive cigar industry has been decimated.

[nwb]

Glad to see someone stick up for the industry.

[tvolball]

Way to go Florida...Wow! never thought those words would come out of my mouth

[Cigary]

It's always about politics and how the powers that be get lobbied by those who have agendas...been this way since the dawn of time.  Cigars or booze or anything that people tend to use for their own reasons are things that shouldn't bother anybody else but it does.  Secondhand smoke  "seems" to be a real concern except for the fact it hasn't been proven but regardless the real point is the hypocrisy of those who claim it's about health issues.  Ok, then come down hard on companies that pollute the environment but that won't happen because it's about money...come down hard on other environmental issues but that won't happen either because they have lawyers who will tie things up until the next century.

While I like to see headway being made in things like this it's always going to be a 'football' for those who just want to have their own way and cigars/tobacco to some people will always be an anathema and they will fight to their last living breath to defeat it....all at the same time they are dealing with their own issues of overeating...diabetic and lazy lifestyles where they are always sick and depending on drugs to "fix" their lives....guess they don't see the forest for the trees.

[DonM]

There are still small co's rolling in the Tampa area keeping the tradition going. Many of the cigars coming to the US come through FL so it is only right they support the industry