Tewksbury & Company Blog

According to the Associated Press article this week (November 9, 2009), smoking has increased in the past year. Not that we are promoting more cigarette smoking, but, after all, it has been our company’s business for over 13 years now. The most recent national poll shows that now there are about 21% of adults that enjoy tobacco products. It is easy to see why. Like Prohibition, when government tries to take away individual freedoms, it usually backfires.

Recently, the city of New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg and the city council banned flavored cigar sales in the city. This has always proven to be a big boost for those products sale. With increased pressure on Not Smoking, more and more people tend to want to buck the system. As with the SCHIPS tax that went into effect earlier in 2009, sales of roll you own tobaccos (the one product that felt the largest Federal tax increase in SCHIPS legislation) has taken a huge increase across the country. Why would more people pay twice as much as before for these products you ask? It’s Simple. The Government is trying to disguise it’s hopes to outlaw tobacco products all together in the U.S and American’s won’t put up with it.

It was a bit like all of the talk of the harm posed by the common hamburger we have been hearing about for years. It simply drives more customers to enjoy them. This was evidenced by the report this week that McDonalds is planning on opening up 1,000 new restaurants in 2010.

Let’s hope that the “Nanny State” politicians of today will be replaced with leaders that respect an individual’s right to making their own decisions and not attempt to force individuals to conform with laws and restrictions that takes away those basic human rights we all enjoy as Americans.