CNN ran a nice article about the demise of Hav-A-Tampa cigar company that was killed as a result of SCHIPs and moved off-shore to Puerto Rico. Ironically, children of the worker profiled in this story are now eligible for insurance under the program that put their father out of work in the first place. You can read the full story here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/08/26/mainstreet.tampa.cigars.jobs/index.html#cnnSTCText And if you know of any jobs to offer to these folks, you can check out the website at havatampaneedsjobs.com. ** Note that the embedded video has been removed since it was causing problems...

Don’t let the popular press, and television in particular, fool you. This isn’t just about cigarette smokers and their “drain on the healthcare system”. It isn’t “about the children” as the sound bites might indicate. What it is about is the unfair taxation of a very small portion of the population (less than 10% by some estimates) to fund a program that affects ALL of the citizens of the US. The following is a press release from the National Association of Tobacco Outlets advising all responsible consumers of tobacco products to make their voices heard on this subject. It...

  From a press release: January 23, 2008- The U.S. House of Representatives again failed leadership again failed to win over enough Republicans to override President Bush's veto of a children's health insurance bill Wednesday. International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Chris McCalla Legislative Director

From a press release: Current SCHIP Program to be Extended to 2009 Veto Override Attempt of Current SCHIP Legislation Unlikely As you know, the President vetoed the current SCHIP legislation on December 12. The House leadership has scheduled a vote for January 23 to attempt to override that veto. It appears that the House will not be able to muster the 2/3 vote necessary to override the veto. Late last week there was talk regarding a short term extension of the current SCHIP program through March 31, 2008. However, on December 17, negotiators agreed to extend...

News from the IPCPR: Legislation Proposed Excessive Tax on Cigars October 18, 2007- Finally, this critical vote failed to pass the House of Representatives in a floor vote today. The final vote was 273-156, short of the necessary two-thirds majority (of present voting members) needed. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your perseverance, tenacity, vigilance, and persistence in contacting your U.S. congressmen and congresswomen, and your senators through phone calls, emails, faxes, and personal visits to their district and Capital Hill offices. Without your support and direct action we simply would not...

Looking for bullet points or help to craft a message to your local senator/congressman to UPHOLD the SCHIPs veto. Going to http://capwiz.com/rtda/issues/alert/?alertid=10386901 and inputting your zip code will not only give you a list of representatives near you, but it will also give you bullet points appropriate to how the legislator had previously voted. The time to act is now so don't wait. We think you'll find this tool from the IPCPR will assist you in knocking this down. SCHIP supporters are gearing up with a multi-million dollar TV campaign to get the uninformed electorate to pressure legislators who voted...

ACTION ALERT! Call and Urge Your U.S. RepresentativeTo Sustain President Bush’s VetoOf the SCHIP Bill! On October 3rd, President Bush Vetoed the SCHIP BillWith Excessive Cigarette and Tobacco Tax Increases The Democrat Leadership in the U.S. House has ScheduledA Vote to Try and Override the Veto on October 18th You Need To Call Their U.S. Representative Now and Urge Them toSustain the President’s Veto of the SCHIP Bill! __________________________________ Call Either of the Following Toll-Free Numbers to Be Directly Connected with Your U.S. Representative’s Office: 1-877-857-8074 or 1-866-527-4494 CALLS ARE...

From the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Federal Legislative Update Compromise Bill Moves Forward for Vote Cigar Floor Stocks Tax Provision Removed September 25, 2007- A compromise bill for the State Children Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) funding was finalized late in the evening on Monday, September 24 with mixed news for the premium cigar and pipe industry. The Floor Stocks Tax provision on cigars that was originally in the legislation has been stricken. THERE IS NO FLOOR STOCKS TAX IN THE LEGISLATION! However, the tax rate was reduced by only...

Well, smokers here in California successfully (but narrowly) avoided an overly onerous tax burden last fall but it appears that this tax has reared it's head at the federal level and we need ALL of you out there to hound your Senators and Representatives at the federal level to knock this one down. Current Tax Rate ...