Well that sucks...

[Emperor Zurg]

Who does the premium cigar industry hurt? Nobody is rolling blunts with their Padron wrappers. Nobody is getting behind the wheel and killing someone because they just finished a Fuente. Kids aren't secretly smoking an Eastern Standard behind school. Who does it hurt? They aren't dangerous or highly addictive. I don't need a nanny, I'm a grown ass man. It also makes me mad as a small business owner. The big corporations and conglomerates will be fine, they can afford it. The little guys can't. Crush the little guy and let the rich get richer. Not to mention the consolidations and mergers that will happen. Medium/Little guys may be forced to sell out to General or Altadis to keep the doors open. Then the products suffer. I'll stop ranting.

Kris is right though. It would only apply to products legally sold in the U.S. So maybe Viva the Embargo?! This shit is just depressing.

Don't ever think this is about children or blunts. Don't think you have any rights as a 'consenting adult' either. Fact is, health care in the USA has been quasi-socialist for decades and now it's approaching full, unapologetic socialism. This puts the health care costs of the masses on the shoulders of relatively few payers and they don't think you should smoke. Fact is, the more tobacco consumed, the higher the net cost of health care. Sure, this is about 'the children' to a point - nobody thinks 8 year old Jimmy should be sporting a pack of smokes. But the larger issue is keeping little Jimmy from becoming a smoker in his adult life because smokers cost more to care for than non smokers. All this is about is reducing the net consumption of tobacco by the masses. Your rights be damned. And it really grinds me that for years now, so many pro-nannystate morons have been clamoring for the government to "do something about health care costs" and now it's happening. If that's one of you reading this post, Geez you asshole, thanks a lot!

Now get ready for Big Brother to start regulating your bacon.