DOWNTOWN WAYNESVILLE Labor Day weekend. Saturday night, Sept. 3, 7-10pm.

Seven years later & stronger than ever, the popular Block Party continues to draw a large crowd of locals & tourist visiting our area Labor Day weekend. Saturday night, Sept. 3, 7-10pm. Main Street closes at 5pm for set-up. All vehicles must be removed before that time. Restaurants will remain open, many with outdoor seating. The famous Nico’s will come up to Main Street, a Kettlecorn vendor and delicious homemade baked goods will be offered by the Waynesville Police Department as a fundraiser for their SRT training. Mr. Tom, the balloon man returns to the Children’s area in front of Fun Things. Three bands will entertain us! In front of Pheasant Hill, The 96.5 House Band has a playlist that spans nearly four decades of hits, Main Street is a popular dance floor when 96.5 comes to town. If you’re not dancing, you’ll be singing along! The Josh Fields Band, a mixture of Southern Rock, Classic & Contemporary Country, and Bluegrass for a blend that will please every listener, is back after a great performance at our Memorial Day Block Party. They will be located in front of Tipping Point Tavern. Known for their high-octane live shows, Rafe Hollister is back with their own unique style of Mountain Rock describing their use of traditional bluegrass instruments to create Rafe’s brand of roots music with a seasoned and authentic sound. RH will be located on the south end of Main Street in front of Earthwork’s &T. Pennington Galleries. Many shops & galleries will remain open. Porta jons will be in the UCBank upper parking lot. Sorry, no animals allowed at downtown events.+

Don’t forget to come visit us, Good Ol’ Days Cigars.

www.goodoldayscigars.com

 

 

Cigar night

  

                                                   PRESENTS

                               CIGAR NIGHT IN THE SMOKIES

       LOCATION -     The Moonshine Grill            

                                      US Hwy 19, Maggie Valley, NC

        DATE -      September 15, 2011(THURSDAY)

        TIME -     6:30 pm – 9:30 pm

        TICKETS -         $10

        INCLUDES

                              1 – Montecristo 75^th Anniv. Cigar.                                 

                              1 – Mixed drink, Beer or Wine.                                       

                             1 – 101 Cigar lesson with Brad from  Altadis USA.

                             1 – Ticket for door prizes.

         we will be offering great deals  on

         Montecristo, H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta

          Reserve Real.

          Purchase your tickets at:

          Good Ol’ Days Cigars – 46 N. Main St. – Waynesville

          Moonshine Grill – US Hwy 19 – Maggie Valley

          See You There!!! Food available for purchase!!!

COMMITTEE SNUFFS OUT TOBACCO TAX HIKE

March 3, 2011

By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter The Register-Herald Thu Mar 03, 2011, 12:03 AM EST

CHARLESTON — Smokers can relax and light up without fear of digging into their wallets to cough up an extra $1 per pack of cigarettes.

An lack of interest from the House Finance Committee led to the demise of a proposed hike in the tobacco tax, leaving in the lurch an anticipated $60 million for cessation programs and money to treat addicts.

A disappointed House Health and Human Resources Chairman Don Perdue, D-Wayne, lamented the demise of the bill and spoke of a “silent epidemic” that is being virtually ignored.

The failure of the tobacco tax, however, didn’t prevent the resurrection in the Senate of a bill aimed at resolving the staggering debt in the other post-employment benefits, or OPEB.

NEW OWNERS FOR GOOD OL’ DAYS CIGARS

As of March 1, 2011 Good Ol’ Days Cigars has new owners, Chris and Vera. Please be sure to stop in and say hello… and, of course, buy a few cigars

HOW TO SMOKE A PIPE

HOW TO SMOKE A PIPE    …posted by Wonder How To, Inc.

The art of pipe smoking is the oldest form of tobacco use, and the one most often overlooked by the modern smoker. In this day and age of instant gratification and fast-paced living, replete with instant coffee and five-minute cigarettes, the pipe remains a comforting bulwark again the general flow. Pipe smoking is a remarkably challenging, yet extremely rewarding hobby for those with patience, and can easily be regarded as the most sophisticated form of smoking.

Step 1

Find a pipe that suits you. Tobacconists are more than happy to help you find your perfect pipe. Prices can vary from cheap to a small fortune.

Step 2

Experiment with different tobaccos in order to find a preference. There are many varieties of pipe tobacco, including Aromatics, American blends, English blends, Virginias, Burleys, amongst others. A tobacconist will be able to help advise you on their individual characteristics. People completely new to smoking may enjoy an aromatic or lighter tobacco, while on the other hand a habitual cigarette or cigar smoker might prefer a heavier blend. Buy small amounts representing several different styles.

Step 3

Pack the pipe. Fill the pipe loosely with tobacco and compress it lightly. Compressed halfway from the bottom of the bowl to the top. Fill again to the top and compress with a little more force. This time halfway from the top of the previous packing to the top. Now top it off and compress a bit harder. Again half way from the last point to the top. It must not be so dense as to prevent air from being drawn through the pipe; you should be able to draw air through with little or no resistance. The tobacco should be springy to the touch. It’s best to have your tobacconist or an experienced pipe smoker demonstrate. Correct packing takes practice, and has a major impact on how enjoyable your experience will be.

Step 4

Light the pipe with a wooden match or a butane pipe lighter. If using a match, let the sulfur burn off for a few seconds. Move the flame around the surface of the tobacco while drawing gently until evenly lit, then tamp it gently with a tamper. Let it go out, then relight the same way.

Step 5

Puff slowly and rhythmically. Patience is rewarded with aroma and a cool smoke. Puffing too fast will result in tongue bite – a burning sensation on the tongue.

Step 6

Tamp the tobacco gently and periodically throughout the smoke to ensure the bowl remains correctly packed while smoking. Don’t worry if the pipe goes out from time to time. Simply relight, after the pipe has cooled.

Step 7

Make sure you smoke your pipe to the end to create a nice ‘cake’ (layer of carbon deposits) at the bottom and side of your pipe bowl.

Step 8

Relax and enjoy. Pipe smoking is the quintessential art of smoking.

Tips

• Get support and advice. There many great forums out there and great people to help you discover this wonderful hobby and pastime. Many give up from lack of answers to some of the simplest questions. We are out there and we love to help.

SOUTH CAROLINA JOURNALIST ON OUR SIDE

EDITORIAL: Smoking ban should be in hands of business owners

By MORNING NEWS
Published: January 27, 2011

An updated smoking ban proposal is set to go before Florence City Council next month. It is more lenient than its predecessor, which council rejected last year. That’s good news. We think restaurants and other businesses shouldn’t receive severe penalties for violating this kind of ordinance.

It is not good news enough, however. We think the decision on whether to go smoke-free doesn’t belong in the hands of government at all.

We don’t take this position lightly. As city councilwoman Octavia Williams-Blake, the primary force behind the proposed ban, has noted, there are 28 other cities or counties in the state with smoke-free ordinances, and such regulations have been upheld twice by the state Supreme Court. That suggests that the no-smoking movement is gaining momentum, even here in tobacco and individual rights country.

And to be honest, we think it should. Although we believe government shouldn’t be interfering with private business in this manner, we are no fan of the toxic effects of cigarette smoke and acknowledge that smoking in restaurants is unhealthy. It is our experience that secondhand smoke doesn’t know that it’s supposed to remain in the no smoking section, and it inevitably will drift, unfiltered, into the respiratory system of everyone within range – including children. Nobody can really be in favor of that.

Effort to Overturn St. Louis Smoking Ban

Smoking Bans

Effort to Overturn St. Louis Smoking Ban Would Focus on Casino Exemption

By Chad Garrison, Thursday, Nov. 19 2009 @ 3:53PM

Photo: Jenn Silverberg

Hannegan lighting up at one of his favorite haunts, Herbies’ Vintage ’72.

St. Louis’ most tireless smoking-ban opponent Bill Hannegan stopped by the Riverfront Times the other day. In so doing, Hannegan hinted how his Keep St. Louis Free plans to topple the ban in the city that is slated to go into effect January 2011.

The strategy, says Hannegan, would be to challenge the ban’s exemption that allows for smoking to continue unabated in St. Louis casinos.

A quick refresher for those of you not caught up on the issue: On November 3, voters in St. Louis County overwhelmingly voted in a smoking ban that also triggered a somewhat similar ban for the city of St. Louis.

Both the city and county laws exempt casinos from the smoking bans. In the county, so-called “drinking bars” whose alcohol sales outweigh food sales by a margin of 3 to 1 will be exempted from the ban indefinitely. In the city, bars of a certain size (less than 2,000 square feet) are also exempted from the ban but only for a period of five years. After that, all bars will be smoke free.

The sunset provision of the city’s ban particularly irks Hannegan. “This is going to hurt bar owners in the city a lot more than in the county,” he says.

So, if Hannegan is so concerned about how the ban will impact bar owners, why is he now targeting the casinos?

Spike in Cuban cigar seizures at O’Hare Airport

Chicago Customs and Border Protection officers have been under siege lately with a record number of illegal Cuban cigar shipments arriving from Switzerland at the O’Hare Airport International Mail Facility.

Over the last two weeks, CBP officers in Chicago have already seized over 30,000 Cuban cigars with over 70,000 more of the popular contraband already detained, the CBP said in a statement released on Monday. CBP officers seize imported Cuban cigars or anything of Cuban origin because of the United States’ embargo against Cuba.

Black-market cigarettes costing NY $20M a month

Updated: Fri., Nov. 26, 2010, 8:38 AM

By DOUGLAS MONTERO, KEVIN FASICK and CHUCK BENNETT

Last Updated: 8:38 AM, November 26, 2010

Posted: 2:43 AM, November 26, 2010

The underground tobacco market is spreading like a fast-growing cancer in the wake of tax hikes that make New York cigarettes the most expensive in the nation — and it’s costing the state tens of millions a month in lost tax revenue, a Post analysis has found.

Illegal cigarettes are pouring into neighborhood bodegas by the truckload from neighboring Indian reservations, lower-tax states in the South and even as far away as China, authorities say.

Government data show that New York state is being smoked out of as much as $20 million a month from all these illegal cigarette purchases — an estimated 7.3 million packs a month sold off the state tax radar.

IT PAYS TO CHEAT

“It’s an unfortunate side effect of the taxes, creating this black market,” said Ron Turk, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ New York field office.

Sales of taxed cigarettes have plummeted 27 percent since July, when state lawmakers raised the excise tax to $4.35 a pack on top of the city’s tax of $1.50, making the average price of Marlboros here $11.60, with some shops charging as much as $14.

About 30 million packs are being sold legally each month — down from 41 million packs a month before July.

The plunge far exceeds tobacco-control experts’ predictions that sales would fall 8 to 10 percent, indicating that smokers are finding other means to get their nicotine fix.

How Far Will We Go To Balance Freedom, Security?

5:42 PM, Nov 26, 2010  |

To feel safe, or to protect us from ourselves, people in the United States have enthusiastically been tossing away their freedoms. It started with helmet and seat-belt laws and then morphed into smoking bans, which then led to dictating what property and business owners can do with their own establishments. Soon there were security cameras in nearly every store and throughout the cities, as well as government and corporate monitoring of Internet and phone traffic.

Now we have late-night road blocks and the wonderful Transportation Security Admininistration. These last two examples of unreasonable search and seizure (my keychain was confiscated because of manicure scissors) finally are starting to wake people up from their risk adverse slumber. Obviously, if you remove everyone’s expectation of privacy and institute a police state, your chances of an incident are reduced, but how far will we go?

The terrorists have no boundaries and the fanatical suicide bombers only wish to meet their makers, so when a mass of plastic explosive is finally discovered inside a body cavity, will everyone then be forced to either endure an even higher dose of radiation or go to a private room with an agent for a more intimate inspection?

Bill Browning , IndyStar.com

Carmel