The S-CHIP tax is here. It adds a minimal amount to the cost of your favourite premium cigar - it started out to be a lot more burdensome. That money goes to health insurance for 'kids.' Kids twenty-five (25) and under. Most of those 'kids' that I know, are married and have kids. We fought the good fight. Through the efforts of CAA and CRA and many industry figures, we were able to mitigate the originally proposed onerous tax.

Now, the only decent thing to do is Smoke more cigars...to keep our children healthy!

I had left my cigar on the lip of an ashtray on the bar at Puros (10792 Coral Way, Miami, FL 33165 - 305.222.2217 - www.myspace.com/puros1) one day, and asked my friend Kiki Rodriguez, a very amiable Florida State Trooper, with whom I was having a conversation and who was closer to the ashtray, to hand it to me. Instead of picking it up, he lifted the ashtray (no small feat, it being one of those very attractive, huge, heavy, ceramic squares by Alec Bradley) and presented it in front of me for me to take hold of my cigar!


I took my cigar at the same time that I asked Kiki why he didn't just take the cigar and hand it to be. That courtesy was motivated by Kiki's desire not to touch my cigar.

There ensued an hour long discussion about cigars and personal hygiene. All of it related, principally to the manner in which smokers grope and fondle cigars in the shelves.

My experience with cigar factories and the rolling rooms is that cleanliness is paramount, and as for the torcedores, themselves, the only thing to touch their hands is tobacco and the edible glue - that they use on the capa. So, no problem there.