Tales of the Smoke Police

Cigars Under Siege Tobacconists and smokers throughout California are fighting a desperate battle against antitobacco forces.

Michael Kaplan
From the Print Edition:
Bo Derek, Jul/Aug 00

(continued from page 3)

Back in the mid-1990s, big shots used to come in to celebrate after they closed massive deals, recalls Rigo Fernandez, the store's manager. "It used to be 10 hours a day with people smoking, talking, doing business," he says. "Now the cigars are too expensive and I can't sell them. We are left with customers coming in to buy a single cigar to smoke after dinner." Hinds used to be a meeting place prior to lavish meals in the neighborhood restaurants. People were so hungry to get cigars that Fernandez maintained a waiting list of customers, and he fended off those who offered to pay up front before the merchandise was even in stock. "The difference after Proposition 10 was immediately noticed," says Fernandez, a Havana native who is banking on a lifting of the U.S. embargo on Cuba to ignite a new cigar boom some day in the future. "We lost all of our box sales. The prices went up, the cigars became readily available again, people realized they could get any cigars they want at any time. They stopped needing the boxes."

California voters had the opportunity in a March vote to reverse the onerous taxation of Proposition 10 with a referendum called Proposition 28. Prior to the vote, pro-tobacco forces were outspent by Reiner's coalition $20 million to $1 million, and the referendum was voted down by a wide margin.

When Fernandez considers the current state of the market, he sees too many retailers and not enough smokers, and he is willing to articulate what many other merchants are probably thinking. "The only hope I can see is that people will start going out of business and there will be more room for the ones who stay in business," he says. "What works in our favor is that sometimes mail-ordered cigars arrive late and the quality is not always good. That is when [customers] start coming back here." A businessman walks into the store, browses the humidor, and exits without making a purchase. Watching his fading form, Fernandez speaks a common sentiment. "There has to be a light in the future," he says. "But right now it still seems far away." v [Editor's note: As this issue went to press, the Thomas Hinds shop closed its doors, according to the owners for reasons unrelated to Proposition 10.]

Michael Kaplan is a New York-based freelance writer and a frequent contributor to Cigar Aficionado.

Also in this issue: