They don't want the poor to smoke, but they want the rich to be able to do it. Is this good for society?...legislating to stop the poor from the small enjoyments of life, but not the rich?
Beverly Hills ...is poised to enact what officials say is the most stringent tobacco ban in the country, eliminating the sale of virtually all recreational nicotine products — with one very Beverly Hills exception.
Cigarettes are out. Vapes are dead. But...an elite group of aficionados...will be spared...three dedicated lounges.
...
“The Grand Havana Room, which I have been a member of since its inception, provides a treasured home away from home,” wrote Schwarzenegger. “It is unthinkable that the city might adopt a policy that would intentionally or unintentionally cause the closure of this character-defining institution.”
Schwarzenegger made clear he supported the ban, which gained near-final approval in a unanimous City Council vote Tuesday night. “I am right there with you,” he wrote. “I agree with your battle to protect people from the dangers of tobacco smoke.”
But when it came to his club, Schwarzenegger wrote, the city should back off.
“I trust that [the city] will recognize the fundamental difference” between clubs like the Grand Havana Room and a gas station selling nicotine pods for e-cigarettes, he wrote.
Others made a similar distinction.
“I know very well the adverse effects on health, that’s why I'm supportive of the general ban,” said Dr. Richard Shemin, chairman of cardiac surgery at UCLA and a vocal advocate for the cigar lounge exemption. “However, I think adults in private clubs who make personal choices should be allowed to do so.”
...
“The Health and Safety Commission...exempted cigar lounges...because of their economic status,” wrote John Pouldar, who owns a gas station on Olympic Boulevard and would lose the right to sell tobacco products under the ban. “[The city] is discriminative toward other businesses mainly because our clients aren’t powerful.”
Link: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-beverly-hills-tobacco-ban-except-cigars-schwarzenegger-20190521-story.html
There are a helluva lot of cheap cigars out there.
Not saying that the whole thing makes any sense. But I’m also not convinced it is a class thing here. Cigar bars have been exceptions to smoking bans everywhere.
Regardless that as unfitrered smoking, it is far more dangerous than the banned cigarettes for the same health issues
Regardless of the additional THC risks
.......gotta keep the masses tranquillized. Besides, we all know the historical political alignment of Big Tobacco vs Hemp.
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Even here in Colorado you only have to be 18 to buy tobacco, but 21 to buy cannabis. There are still some bars here where people can smoke cigarettes (if they don't allow kids inside). Still none where you can smoke cannabis. What you are seeing is a logical correction to make the 2 regulated more similarly.
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MJ is much less so.
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Link: http://grandhavana.com/beverly-hills/
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