When I was 15, my friend Lindsey and I would sneak out of summer camp to smoke skinny, leaf-wrapped cigarettes called bidis. They came in exotic-looking, triangular packages decorated with pictures of whatever they were supposed to taste like -- vanilla beans, strawberries -- though they mostly just tasted like burning. We felt satisfyingly rebellious, even though I'm sure we just looked like a pair of dizzy dorks.
Still, I'm disappointed that, back in June, President Barack Obama robbed our nation's youth of this
method of extinguishing brain cells by signing the Family Smoking Prevention and
Tobacco Control Act, which, among other things, bans flavored cigarettes like cloves and bidis.
Jason Ballou, co-owner of Main Street Tobacco at 4307 Main, has been in the cig-selling business for 14 years. He says the ban will eliminate 50 of his store's cigarette varieties, and unless he tells them, most of his customers have no idea what's coming.
As of September 22, Ballou says, "Cloves of any kind become illegal.
Bidis will be, as well. And then the different flavored cigarettes, the
vanillas and cherries that are really popular, will all be illegal. Same with herbal cigarettes, which contain no tobacco at all, no
nicotine."
So did the local tobacco retailers protest? "Really there's nothing we can do," Ballou says. "Most cigarette manufacturers opposed
it, with the exception of Philip Morris, who supported the law. It's
going to eliminate a quarter of [Philip Morris'] competition, so they'll
definitely see increases in their sales."
Meanwhile, clove-lovers are stocking up. "We're getting people that come in and buy four, five, six cartons" of their favorite brands, Ballou says. "Just like when the cigarette tax happened, as
shortages get worse and worse, the manufacturers will increase the
price on the existing stock."
After September 22, customers can still possess the products, though they're illegal to sell. Ordering them from other countries or bringing them from overseas will be illegal, too.
On the upside, Ballou says, the ban doesn't affect cigars, and clove-flavored varieties are being made now. "Essentially, they're the size of 100-type cigarettes, with a filter,
but it's cigar tobacco instead of cigarette tobacco," Ballou says. "They're cheaper per cigar than the cigarettes were, because they are taxed at the cheaper cigar
rate. So it's actually become cheaper to smoke
cloves."
Ballou notes the irony that the federal government hoped its flavored tobacco ban would protect kids, and yet the most popular cigarette flavor in the world -- menthol -- remains on the shelves.
Besides, he says, "Cigar and pipe tobacco has always been flavored and kids
certainly aren't swarming to try those." Maybe the release of the new Sherlock Holmes movie will change that?
More than likely, though, kids won't even
notice a ban on flavored cigarettes -- they're all too busy smoking pot.
Showing 1-45 of 45
The nation’s top benefactor of clove cigarettes is offering admirers a new way to get their fix afterwards the spice-flavored cigarettes are banned at the end of this ages cigars.
flavored cigars
I also get them at the border, but I get the original Djarum blacks class A that have 20 cigs per pack.
The Blacks are illegal to sell in stores, but no illegal to smoke them if you have them. If your looking for the original Djarum Black clove class A, 20 per pack, 10 pack per carton drop me a line @ elmiranda @ aol com
Djarum Black cloves are illegal to sell in the states, but not illegal to smoke them if you have them. I've been getting the djarum black cloves class A at the duty free store at the border crossing. Your allowed one carton per person per trip. If you can not get them, and have the need to smoke one. Jrop me a line at elmiranda@aol.com
I don't understand why people who voted this asshole into office are so offended by him screwing them hard now. :-) What I can understand is how others who were smart and didn't vote for this dumbass are pissed off with what he is doing to America. I find a little humor in the fact that Philip Morris will be taking a hit for menthol sales as well from the guys they supported in this measure. However,if methol is allowed to stay on the shelves, people should revolt against the government as a mob as this will be a clear indication of a government payoff. Why don't they ban flavored alcohol as well, since drunk assholes kill people everyday while driving? That's right, folks...because this is all just a scam to make it look as though the government actually gives two turds for your safety. I didn't help vote this dumbass into office, but I will glad help vote his ass out, provided he is still in office. Pathetic situation!
A complete crock of BS. A violation of our freedom. Utterly hypocritical given that other cigarettes are still legal, which just further exasperates the breach on our freedoms.
This is politics, pure and simple. Fat, over-paid politicians in Washington that dont enjoy clove cigarettes... jumping on the band wagon because it seems like a "neato" idea to help them get more votes.
How can they claim this is for the betterment of kids when other cigarettes are still legal?
Need to find a loop-hole?
I have been looking for ways around the ban, and have even driven the two minutes across the border to pay an outrageous price for the cigarettes I refuse to quit smoking. I've been a legal smoker for 19 years. I have the right to make the decisions about what I do or do not put into my body. I am refusing to purchase US cigarettes, and will diligently find alternatives to screw the laws and the system in as many legal ways as possible. I can purchase bags of tobacco that have been imported, legally, and make my own clove cigarettes, too. Now, to just go and order the rolling papers......
To everyone who is bashing people about the nigger comments. you are hypocrites, your opinions biased. much like the bill you are currently bitching about.
So in lieu of this, NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER .
Dear Sir,
I am writing to inform you that I believe that my Constitutional Rights are being violated by the recent ban on Kreteks. I agree wholeheartedly that tobacco usage should continue to be regulated and NEVER sold to minors. However, clumping brands such as Djarum in a ban is ludicrous to say the least! Make the sale of these regulated to Liquor Stores and Smoke shops, which always check (and even scan) identification. An all out ban on this product makes no sense! If you say it's a health issue, then ban ALL cigarettes... it's like saying, you may consume rum, but not any produced in Jamaica or smoke any cigar but a Cuban!
I urge you to vote NO on S. 1147 aka the "PACT Act"
And I will produce a short narrative to explain my reasoning.
Let me preface this by stating that I do realize that smoking is dangerous to ones health. In fact, I have been in a tapering off progression towards quitting that has been working. I have been smoking Djarum Specials exclusively for nearly 10 years and was of legal age when I began. I have gone from more than a pack a day to less than 1/2 a pack a day (mostly due to the added taxes).
I usually purchase by the carton from the same gas station about a 20 minute drive from my house. Djarums are hard to find in the marketplace. Well since I have cut back it has been some time since I had made a purchase. Much to my dismay, I was informed that they were no longer able to order the only cigarette that I have or will ever smoke. This took me by surprise, I had no idea that I blanket ban was made. Panicked by addiction I drove to places that I knew sold them and alas, there was none to be found.
I finally tried searching the internet and found an online retailer. I was amazed by the amount of security is in place in order to place an order. They required a drivers license number, last 4 of social, address which was cross referenced... on top of that, for some reason my current address was not listed as primary so there were 4 additional questions that I had to answer that proved it was me... not only this, they require an adult signature upon delivery. They notified upon checkout that sadly, despite doing their due diligence in providing a secure check out system, that the government would likely be shutting them down.
Yes I plan on quitting, but I would like to do it on my terms! If any studies are done, I hope you note the longer burn time, as while lighting up with friends who smoke domestic brands, I would still be smoking the first one when they light up and nearly finish the second.
In fact, I will often smoke half, then save the second half for later. I smoke Djarum Specials which are never marketed especially to children! Plus they are considerably more expensive than cigarettes, and thus not going to be sought after by minors either.
Please forgive this long statement of my feelings and understand that it is wrong to blanket group an Indonesian Specialty Export and at the same time ignore domestic brands... it is hypocritical!
Respectively,
Dear Sirs,
I am writing to inform you that I believe that my Constitutional Rights are being violated by the recent ban on Kreteks. I agree wholeheartedly that tobacco usage should continue to be regulated and NEVER sold to minors. However, clumping brands such as Djarum in a ban is ludicrous to say the least! Make the sale of these regulated to Liquor Stores and Smoke shops, which always check (and even scan) identification. An all out ban on this product makes no sense! If you say it's a health issue, then ban ALL cigarettes... it's like saying, you may consume rum, but not any produced in Jamaica or smoke any cigar but a Cuban!
I urge you to vote NO on S. 1147 aka the "PACT Act"
And I will produce a short narrative to explain my reasoning.
Let me preface this by stating that I do realize that smoking is dangerous to ones health. In fact, I have been in a tapering off progression towards quitting that has been working. I have been smoking Djarum Specials exclusively for nearly 10 years and was of legal age when I began. I have gone from more than a pack a day to less than 1/2 a pack a day (mostly due to the added taxes).
I usually purchase by the carton from the same gas station about a 20 minute drive from my house. Djarums are hard to find in the marketplace. Well since I have cut back it has been some time since I had made a purchase. Much to my dismay, I was informed that they were no longer able to order the only cigarette that I have or will ever smoke. This took me by surprise, I had no idea that I blanket ban was made. Panicked by addiction I drove to places that I knew sold them and alas, there was none to be found.
I finally tried searching the internet and found an online retailer. I was amazed by the amount of security is in place in order to place an order. They required a drivers license number, last 4 of social, address which was cross referenced... on top of that, for some reason my current address was not listed as primary so there were 4 additional questions that I had to answer that proved it was me... not only this, they require an adult signature upon delivery. They notified upon checkout that sadly, despite doing their due diligence in providing a secure check out system, that the government would likely be shutting them down.
Yes I plan on quitting, but I would like to do it on my terms! If any studies are done, I hope you note the longer burn time, as while lighting up with friends who smoke domestic brands, I would still be smoking the first one when they light up and nearly finish the second.
In fact, I will often smoke half, then save the second half for later. I smoke Djarum Specials which are never marketed especially to children! Plus they are considerably more expensive than cigarettes, and thus not going to be sought after by minors either.
Please forgive this long statement of my feelings and understand that it is wrong to blanket group an Indonesian Specialty Export and at the same time ignore domestic brands... it is hypocritical!
Respectively,
Here's the Federal Register article that was posted today regarding the ban on flavored cigarettes effective 09/22/09
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. FDA-2009-N-0449]
Enforcement of General Tobacco Standard Special Rule for Cigarettes
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act), as amended by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA), establishes a tobacco standard special rule for cigarettes. This special rule for cigarettes prohibits a cigarette or any of its component parts (including the tobacco, filter, or paper) from containing, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is providing this notice to remind regulated industry that as of the effective date identified in the FSPTCA, cigarettes that contain certain characterizing flavors are considered adulterated under the act. FDA is also providing in this notice contact information to which individuals who observe violative products after the effective date of the tobacco standard special rule may report their observations to FDA.
DATES: Effective September 22, 2009.
ADDRESSES: To report tobacco products that fail to comply with section 907(a)(1)(A) of the act after September 22, 2009, please contact the Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, 9200 Corporate Blvd., Rockville, MD 20850-3229, 877-287-1373 or http://www.fda.gov/flavoredtob...
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Mital, Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, 9200 Corporate Blvd., Rockville, MD 20850-3229, 877-287-1373, Michele.Mital@fda.hhs.gov.
74 FR 48974 -- Sep. 25, 2009 FDA source: http://www.FederalRegister.com or http://www.cyberregs.com/pub/c...
Iam sisk of the guv telling us what to do.I am growing my owne tobacco.that is what it is coming to.if you want to smoke youll haft to groll it your safe.any one that nead seed.call me
Look, I'm a liberal who voted for Obama, abstains from smoking, and really hates tobacco companies. And I will state unequivocally that the colorful cherry-flavored bidis and bubble-gum flavored "e-cigarettes," are nothing but a cynical ploy to get teens and even pre-teens so hooked on nicotine that they will be slaves to the tobacco industry for the rest of their drastically shortened lives. I strongly support a ban on those. I also support nearly everything else in this bill, including higher tobacco taxes and stark warnings on all tobacco products sold in the United States.
But this is ridiculous. Clove cigarettes are not designed to hook children, nor have their manufacturers ever advertised in teen magazines such as Rolling Stone the way that Marlboro and Camel do. Rather they are advertised as exactly what they are, a naturally made, age-old tradition from an exotic land, and a rich middle-aged person's guilty pleasure. I understand that clove cigarettes are much more damaging to the body than regular cigarettes and I believe that there should be special warnings on the packages to indicate that. But as long as they are primarily used by adults and have special warning labels I do not understand why we must resort to a draconian ban on them. It limits consumer freedom while doing nothing to protect children from the tobacco industry.
the following part is incorrect. the exact language of the law only disallows sale in the US. Ordering from another country for personal use is still allowed, as is bringing them across the border, as long it is for personal use, and not for sale.
it's this same loophole that allowed for absinthe to be ordered or brought into the US.
"After September 22, customers can still possess the products, though they're illegal to sell. Ordering them from other countries or bringing them from overseas will be illegal, too."
Quick! Everyone save up all your money and buy every single one of these style of cigarettes and cloves! Then we can at least keep them around for a while longer =)
So, our precious government is now banning something that is illegal for those under 18 to possess.
Nice.
But Philip Morris made sure Menthol was NOT BANNED because it accounts for a massive chunk (20-25%) of their sales and 75% of the African-American market.
Nice.
More kids get tempted to smoke by the sweet, minty flavoring of MENTHOL than any other type of cigarette.....especially some Indonesian clove cig that costs much more than they can afford.
Nice.
But, of course, like all the other bullshit this administration is trying to blanket us with in the name of "good health," once again, it ALL COMES DOWN TO MAKING MONEY.
Philip Morris = WINNER
U.S. Government = ASSHOLES
American People = SCREWED
Nice.
djarum black cig are the shit,I echo those viewers words,fuck that nigger he wants to destory American one thing at a time.Impeach obama!
This is stupid. People are "capable of making informed decisions at the age of 18." There was nothing wrong with smoking being illegal for people under 18, but to put more restriction on "legal adults" is just insulting. No, I don't hang around smoking cloves and bidis all the time, but I think this is just stupid. While in highschool I knew no kid that enjoyed flavored tobacco. Only smokers I knew would go for basically anything they could get, because they weren't 18. Why the government would try to restrict smoking, I don't know. If anything it helps them: 1, more taxes; and 2, more likely people will die before age 65 so they can save on social security.
first all all these nigger comment are not nesscary you racist fucks i smoke clove ciggarettes too and im mad as hell for real but yall dont have to make those comments hell if your that stupid in your thinking i hope they make it legal again so that and give you unlimited free packs so you will DIE A PAINFULL CANCERIS DEATH anyway i do believe that if they ban cloves they should ban menthol this is horrible no freedom what so ever in this country if i wnt to risk my health let me make the choice
Of course Obama didn't ban menthols, he's a nigger and all niggers smoke Newports.
Also, I think that we shouldn't blame Obama for this. He didn't take away the cloves, he gave the power to the FDA who, as we all know, have done a great job over the years in terms of poisoning us. Which is ironic, because I'm mad about the fact that they're making people healthier with this. And angrier.
This is a really well-written article. I consider myself a moderate-liberal, and this definitely pulls me towards the moderate side. I like what Obama's been doing so far, but this move makes absolutely no sense, and I'm kinda mad that he did it. Some of us smoke very rarely, and when we do, we smoke party cigarettes (cloves, etc.). The last line of this article gets a huge high-five, though.
Big Brother can shove it...if I win the big mega bucks here in California on Friday??? I am out of this so called land of the free...
UN-believable! I'm a huge supporter of Obama, but this is completely ridiculous and I'm pretty sure kids can't even afford these anyway. I don't see how taking away my ability to make a choice that is COMPLETELY within my rights as a voting, tax-paying adult helps anyone. Why not make energy drinks and soft drinks illegal, too? They're bad for kids... Oh, and so are french fries.. and when are they going to pass a law against riding in cars?
Taking away just flavored cigarrettes and cloves is biased, stupid, ineffectual and infuriating. I'm another who will be giving up (stock up) my favorite freedom in just a few weeks. Un-f***ing-believable.
Stopped into Fidel's to buy my fav occasional cig, Djarum Blacks, also had a chance to sample the repackaged Blacks in cigar form....they are GROTESQUE!!!!! So the only thing government has done is succeeded in taking yet another of my favourite freedoms away. I will after 9/22/09 be a complete non-smoker. Way to go you ignoramuses!
Yay! The Nanny State is going to protect us from ourselves.
I sure hope they ban water soon, between 1975 and 1995, it caused 34% of fatal drownings in the united states.
Menthol will more than likely come off the shelf in good time. The FDA said that they will form a committee to meet in about a year to determine whether or not they should take it off the market.
Clove prices went down? Unless I get them from Indonesia directly and in a round a bout manner, a pack of CLoves in Lincoln, NE costs 6.84 a pack of 20.
I'm moving to indonesia... either that or have to start rolling my own... clove spice is not illegal
Indonesia, where most clove cigarettes or "kreteks" are made, is threatening a WTO trade dispute over this issue.
And one clarification-- menthol was never banned in any of the bills -- you can pull them up online.
The No. 1 menthol brand is Newport, made by Lorilard, not PM. And menthol accounts for 25% of the US cigarette market and no country bans menthol.
It was never likely to be prohibited.
The reason they didn't ban menthol was because Phillip Morris wouldn't back the bill if they did. In the original bill menthol was included in the ban but this would have cut into Phillip Morris sales and they weren't about to have that. They wanted to have the government kill their competition, not hurt their own brand. Congress made the menthol concession for Phillip Morris backing.
This just shows they really didn't care about people's health because menthol are by far the most popular.
On the upside, Ballou says, the ban doesn't affect cigars, and clove-flavored varieties are being made now. "Essentially, they're the size of 100-type cigarettes, with a filter, but it's cigar tobacco instead of cigarette tobacco," Ballou says. "They're cheaper per cigar than the cigarettes were, because they are taxed at the cheaper cigar rate. So it's actually become cheaper to smoke cloves."
YES! I'm a huge fan of Djarum blacks. Knowing that I'll be able to buy cloves at a cheaper rate makes my day. I was devistated when I first heard the news of the tobacco ban. But i think this might work out better (at least for me, personally). I can buy a couple clove cigars instead of a whole pack of Djarums for $8 or $9, which I'd get tired of after a couple days.
I've been smoking clove cigarettes since college, so for well over a decade. I knew the "flavored" cigarettes were going away, but somehow never knew he was going to take away my cloves. What a f***ing bastard.
I know scumbags abound, but do we have to tolerate their incoherent trolls, ie, the swill from DAVID?
Does Barack smoke Kools, and is that why they didn't mess with the menthol?
Honestly, they're going to nanny-state us all to death with all these bans and restrictions of things that are none of their damned business.
But plain ol' cancer sticks, a.k.a. coffin nails, you know, the ones that have killed all those people over the years, will still be perfectly legal.
There's no way they're giving up all that tobacco tax money, public health be damned. But they'll happily screw with the small minority who enjoy the occasional clove or bidi so they can pretend to be upstanding and moral.
like
dislike
