Family Values

This is the blog I really wanted to write.
 
I am used to socializing with cigar makers and members of the luxury tobacco industry so the sight of grown men kissing and hugging each other is nothing new to me. The sight of children playing, roller skating, and tossing a ball while we drink and smoke is also completely common. Husband and Wife Tobacconists teams are one of my favorite things to see. And it is more common than not, to see extended families working together in our industry. In fact, I have never thought twice about it. Yet, my father helped me build my first store by coming in after work and leaving at two in the morning and my mother was my first employee! FAMILY and the luxury tobacco industry are intrinsically linked. This is how traditions are maintained and how extraordinary things are accomplished; Families working together.
 
So, I was a little surprised on a few occasions when my girlfriend got a little choked up this week at the show in Houston. She has been to other RTDA’s with me and even visited with cigar makers, but now that she has a lot of corporate experience under her professional belt, she really shined a new light on the real luxury tobacco business. She was stunned at how many families work together in this industry. She was also amazed at how close all of us in this industry seem. I guess accountants and computer technicians don’t run around kissing and hugging each other at their conventions. Katelyn had her heart warmed at this year’s show because she realized why I  refuse to leave this industry: We Are All Family. We Share the Same Values.

And We love our Products and each other for honoring them.

Simply put, the luxury tobacco industry represents the best of America, Earth, and the Human Experience. The rest of our smoke-hysterical society could learn a lot from this business. Cherish your family, friends, traditions, and honor your time by doing your best and being honorable in everything you do.

Thanks doll, you really shed a light on that which is important! Go get your own blog so I can get back to work.

Jorge Armenteros, CMT

Benjamin Franklin's 13 Virtues

1. TEMPERANCE – moderation in food and drink
 
2. SILENCE – mentioning only important matters
 
3. ORDER – proper organization of time and space

4. RESOLUTION – accomplishing one’s responsibilities
 
5. FRUGALITY – purchasing only worthwhile items and wasting nothing
 
6. INDUSTRY – making the most of one’s time and energy

7. SINCERITY – being honest and forthright

8. JUSTICE – practicing impartiality and refusing to wrong others
 
9. MODERATION – avoiding extremes

10. CLEANLINESS – using good hygiene under sanitary conditions

11. TRANQUILITY – remaining calm and composed despite life’s obstacles

12. CHASTITY – refusing to allow sex to interfere with one’s life

13. HUMILITY – avoiding excess pride and haughtiness
 

Old World & New: Hecho A Mano Series

I had the pleasure today of going to the butcher. S. Maresca & Sons Fine Meats, in Sergeantsville, NJ. I make the trek over the hills and down the winding country roads as often as possible. It is an extraordinary experience to see two brothers carrying on the family traditions and keeping this honorable profession alive. I won’t wax on about their unbelievable bangers, chorizo, Neapolitan flank steak, or anything else. They are precious artisans: enough said. Joe and Emil are getting along in years, yet they refuse to let anyone else do their work. They refuse to compromise their standards, and that means doing it themselves, the right way.

Today we got to talking about modern times. I complained about people wearing bluetooth earpieces while Joe reminded their assistant that her 10 earrings were fine as long as she didn’t pierce her nose or mouth. Then Emil proceeded to cut me a Porterhouse out of an enormous carcass. He used, what looked like, a hundred year old saw to cut through the bones. In fact, nearly every knife, saw, and butcher block they use is an antique. They still use the tools and knowledge handed down to them from their family and forefathers. And while most people continue to shop in grocery stores and buy processed foods, Joe & Emil admit that they are not great business men because they cannot grow beyond their own talents. But they are great Artists; and even better business men. Like great Cigar and Pipe makers, they labor away to honor their product, their consumer, and their time. Always staying true to an idea or ideal: this is art. Ultimately, they have lives with real value which I feel fortunate to share in.

Every day that goes by, life becomes a little more fast paced, communication a little quicker, and our time a little shorter. There is no better moment to sit back, relax, and have a great cigar than right now.

Not A Vice!

Here are two seemingly contradictory definitions of VICE, from Merriam-Webster dictionary:
 
1. “moral depravity or corruption”
 
2. “a habitual and usually trivial defect or shortcoming”
 
I would argue that the word “Vice” is highly over used in modern times. Perhaps because we like to make an enemy out of one thing or another. Many people consider chocolate a vice, yet chocolate can be a healthy and delicious treat. The reality is that almost anything can be a vice in extreme doses. Even drinking too much water kills, but we haven’t gotten to the point where we call water a vice, thankfully.
 
Well, I don’t consider moderate consumption of luxury tobacco a vice. It is an organoeleptic delicacy: luxury tobacco is a sensory pleasure, like a great sunset, glass of wine, soak in the tub, or even chocolate. Ultimately, the dose makes the poison, and even the National Cancer Institute says that there are no known negative health consequences from the enjoyment of less than one cigar a day.
 
So what’s the point? …………… Stop calling everything a Vice: unless it is a moral depravity, corruption, or a habitual defect. And stop trying to turn every healthy human indulgence into a Sin or Vice.

"Tobacco" vs. Cigarettes

Today, 95% of the money generated by the tobacco industry is from Cigarettes. As a result, most people associate the word tobacco with ”Cigarettes”. When people discuss the negative health effects of “tobacco”, they actually mean “Cigarettes”. Print publications, the media, politicians, and even the TSA Agreements use the word “tobacco” when referring specifically to “Cigarettes”. In the public realm, there is little distinction made between different types of tobacco, consumers, or consumption patterns. “Tobacco” is a bad word in contemporary society, yet this is a misnomer. The political, social, and cultural turmoil over one product, Cigarettes, has besmirched a much broader and more profound industry.

Read more about cigarettes in Tobacco College.

I Love Tobacconists

I feel remiss in not having written in a couple of weeks….. but I would like to follow up and say that the Tobacconist University Certified Lapel Pins finally arrived and they ARE Spectacular!!!!
 
But that is not why I am inspired to write today. I just came from a meeting of our State Retailers association. It is a unique group filled with retailers from all walks of life. Our members are Retail Tobacconists with different specialties and stores that serve very different markets. To put it mildly, it is a diverse group. I’m amazed at the diversity of opinions in our meetings. While we are all essentially in the same profession, you would think we weren’t. It is amazing to see so much disagreement and lack of consensus. But that is par for the course in the tobacco industry: cigarettes pitted against cigars, retail against mail order, etc…. We are severely fractionalized, divided, and constantly on the defensive: fighting legislators, taxation, oppression, and sometimes ourselves. Even with all of the different opinions floating around in that room, and different agendas, there are some underlying commonalities, which I admire and respect greatly.

I didn’t start writing this to complain about my fellow Tobacconists. In fact, I leave these regular meetings a little frustrated at the state of our State and Nation, but I also leave rejuvenated. I’m not rejuvenated because we came to any sound conclusions or had any great ideas. I’m invigorated because I’m reminded of why I choose to stay in this industry. Stay and fight for what I believe in; both in terms of freedoms and values. Above all, most Tobacconists I meet are GREAT people. Sometimes I think they are the only people left who actually care about the products they sell. We are Customers, first and foremost. And we are committed to what we love, no matter the challenges, because our passion is undeniable.
 
I can’t think of any other profession facing so many obstacles. Yet I have never seen so many fine people so committed to fighting the good fight and doing the right thing. Sure I’m biased, but that doesn’t change the fact that I Love Tobacconists… and you should too. Don’t let this part of our culture, this venerable profession, die. Support your local Retail Tobacconist, and tell your friends to do so as well. I would argue that nobody works harder to satisfy their customers, than Retail Tobacconists…. and I promise you, they aren’t doing it just for the money.

Jorge Armenteros, CMT

Odor Annoyance = Death, Imprisonment?

Last week was pretty absurd in the Congressional offices. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) called the Capitol Police to complain about Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) smoking a cigar in his office. Rep. Tancredo has been doing this for almost a decade, has several air cleaners, and every right to smoke in his private office…. for now. Apparently, Rep. Ellison felt the aroma of a lit cigar was a compelling enough reason to alert the police. Unbelievable! But true. This is what the anti-smoking fervor has come to on Capitol Hill. In some strange way, I am happy this happened so our legislators can feel the pain, castigation, restrictions, and humiliation that civilian connoisseurs feel every day.
 
Ultimately, this is not an issue about subjecting helpless people to noxious fumes or dangerous carcinogens. Rep. Ellison and the majority of our society feel a personal right to protect themselves from “Odor Annoyance”. Frankly, this idea is ridiculous. I can’t begin to estimate how many disgusting perfumes, ointments, and other smells I have been subjected to over the years. Once, I was on a plane flying out of Havana with a couple of dozen tourists from a specific country (ethnicity omitted in order to not offend) who smelled of fermented sweat and other disgusting, yet natural odors. The synergy of stink was nauseating. It was horrible, I wanted to vomit the whole trip, but I knew I had no right to tell others how often they should bathe.
 
The absolute worst Odor pet peeve of mine is Acetone. And every time my girlfriend opens that bottle to do her nails, I nearly begin to convulse. I get the same feeling when I walk into a beauty salon and smell the hair chemicals they use. I would not be surprised to find out years from now that Acetone and these “beauty” chemicals are responsible for increased birth defects, autism, or more stupidity in general.
 
Obviously we have no right to smell pretty things all the time. But where do we draw the line? Some towns and cities throughout our country have anti-smoking restrictions in place which keep people from smoking within 10 to 25 feet of any doorway. Yet a massive truck can park itself 7 feet from the front door of my Retail Tobacconists in Princeton and New Hope and exhaust themselves all day long. Many Americans are exposed to extreme levels of pollution coming from cars and trucks every day and on every road; yet smoking is the “Big Evil”.
 
Persecuting smokers is just a distraction from addressing more significant issues. There are so many chemicals and pollutants in our air, that the even the Surgeon General’s report on secondhand smoke admits that there are far too many other environmental factors, other than secondhand smoke, that are far too encompassing and present in today’s society that may cause a multitude of health issues and problems.

Jorge Armenteros, CMT