Dear Mr Editor,

Recently, the health ministry authored and is trying to push through a Bill (August 17, 2015) being called the Tobacco Control Act 2015, which would effectively put Bermuda’s only local cigar roller out of business.

It will also severely handicap all of the local sellers of premium cigars, and residually result in several more Bermudians losing their jobs in this already battered economy.

This was without consultation or dialogue whatsoever with any affected stakeholders, including but not limited to local purveyors of premium cigars.

The “Tobacco Control Act 2015 replaces the Tobacco Products (Public Health) Act 1987 and is intended to protect children from tobacco products, strengthen provisions controlling smoking and to control the sale and use of e-cigarettes and cigarette rolling papers to protect human health and, in particular, reduce exposure to chronic disease risk factors in Bermuda”.

At an average retail price of $10 to $15 per premium cigar, I assure you that it is not children and/or minors who are enjoying premium cigars.

It seems, however, that the ministry’s most pressing reason for pushing this Bill through with such urgency has to do with “obligations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)”.

I wonder whose obligation it will be to provide jobs for the Bermudians who will be displaced if this Bill is passed in its present form.

You have to be 18 to buy alcohol in Bermuda, and most Bermudians agree that the same age requirement should apply for buying cigarettes.

In fact, all of the affected stakeholders agree categorically that minors should be protected from exposure and access to cigarettes.

Unfortunately, this new Bill (Tobacco Control Act 2015) far exceeds in both breadth and scope the basic and shared objective of protecting minors from cigarettes, and mistakenly lumps premium cigars with cigarettes as “tobacco products”.

There are many significant differences between premium cigars and cigarettes with respect to both construction and contents, relating to the potential for addiction, toxicity and disease.

For the purpose of this discussion, when I talk about a cigar, I am referring to a premium cigar. A premium cigar is one that uses 100 per cent tobacco and does not contain non-tobacco products such as reconstituted tobacco.

I will not be referring to short-filler or machine-rolled cigars, only to long-filler cigars whose tobaccos have been fermented and aged naturally (ie, without additives) and are totally handmade products.

A cigarette can be defined as “a tobacco product that is wrapped in paper or other substance that does not contain tobacco” (National Cancer Institute, July 7, 2000).

The typical US-made cigarette contains a blend of heat-cured and air-cured tobaccos, but the tobaccos are not fermented.

This is one of the fundamental differences between cigarettes and premium cigars. Premium cigars are air-cured and undergo an extensive fermentation process.

Fermented tobacco is reduced in nicotine by about one third and ends up slightly alkaline (ie, with high pH).

Cigarette tobacco, which is not fermented, loses some of its nicotine during curing, but does not lose the extra nicotine that cigar tobacco loses during the fermentation stage.

Cigar smoking is not a healthy activity. We don’t smoke cigars because they are healthy. We do it because we personally enjoy them, because smoking cigars with friends and acquaintances is a great social or celebratory activity, and because collecting cigars and their accoutrements can be a fun and interesting hobby.

That said, cigar smoking does not necessarily have to translate into high risk for morbidity or mortality.

In 1993, fuelled by a public interest in wealth, success and the finer things in life, Cigar Aficionado magazine hit the newsstands and created even more interest in cigars and cigar smoking, and helped to pave the way to the “cigar boom” of the mid-1990s.

Our visitors epitomise this mindset and premium cigar sales to both our cruise ship and air visitors are phenomenally successful.

One premium cigar merchant, in particular, has made a sizeable investment in our tourism product in the form of “pop-up” cigar fanciers’ experiences at the Dockyard, Harbour Nights, several of the hotels, weddings, conventions and other special events.

These cigar-rolling and smoking events have proven successful time and again, strongly suggesting that a sizeable number of our visitors appreciate the world-class pleasures associated with premium cigars.

This Tobacco Control Act 2015 would significantly affect our tourism product in a negative way.

Many cigar smokers report that sitting and enjoying a fine premium cigar provides them opportunities for regular diversion from the stresses of life — time to reflect and refocus, relaxed social activity with friends and family, and a satisfying intellectual activity consistent with an engaging hobby.

Such activities have been shown to reduce stress and to improve overall health.

Cigars are a social grace, take an hour to smoke (well, 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the size) and most often they are paired with other libations that people obsess about, such as coffee, whisky, Scotch, cognac, wine, etc.

Being engaged in an activity around vices often brings people together and the length of smoking makes for a well-timed meeting.

I respectfully submit that perhaps the ministry should slow down the rush to pass this Tobacco Control Act 2015 on August 17, 2015, and it should initiate a constructive dialogue between the ministry and the stakeholders, relating not so much to international standards, but more importantly what is best for Bermuda and Bermudians.

ANONYMOUS, St George’s