CigarFox

A few years ago, in 2006, the Nevada legislature imposed a public smoking ban.

The new rule doesn’t apply – as yet – to the storied casinos of Las Vegas, where smoking is still allowed on gaming floors. And of course Nevada is hardly the only recent state to impose restrictions on public smoking. Indeed, it joins over thirty states (at this writing) with such laws on the books. If you are reading this from the United States, it is likely that a similar law applies to your area: half the country’s population is currently under the jurisdiction of a public-smoking regulation of some kind.

But the idea of a smoking ban passing the Nevada legislature seems almost like a kind of spiritual defeat for cigar smokers: after all, what could more epitomize “cigar cool” than the mental image of Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack, cigars and drinks in hand, finger-popping their ways through the floor of a Vegas casino?

It just symbolizes a fact that’s made passionate smokers’ lives a little more difficult over the past decade: in the interest of public health (and out of consideration for asthmatics and others), more and more city councils and state legislatures are choosing to ban public smoking outright, or are limiting it to certain licensed facilities.

Arguments about the effectiveness or appropriateness of these bans to one side, we can all agree that they mean that smokers have to put a little more energy into planning vacations. For a person who loves the taste of a good cigar, for whom relaxation doesn’t become meaningful until there’s a stogie involved, there’s no point in a vacation where you can’t even smoke in your hotel room. With smoking bans underway in Atlantic City (and this ban extends to casinos) and similar one-time bastions of cigar culture, frustrated cigar smokers are turning to a new option: the cruise ship.

And why not? Cruise ship vacations offer the ultimate chance to “get away from it all,” a continuous expanse of blue water, and the opportunity to meet interesting people from all over the country (and world). Few cruises are completely smoke-free, with most offering, at the very least, designated smoking areas that might include cigar bars or lounges. So it’s hard to go completely wrong – wherever you book your passage, you’ll almost always have at least some chance to smoke.

More and more luxury cruise lines don’t allow smoking in living quarters – that’s one downfall. After all, the next person using your room might be a nonsmoker, and it doesn’t make economic sense for cruise ship directors to designate permanent “smoking” and “nonsmoking” rooms; such a move would involve logistical nightmares during booking. But luxury quarters often include balconies, where smoking is sometimes still allowed.

The recent case of a cruise line headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida gives smokers an indication of what they can expect. The cruise line, according to some reports, lost millions in bookings after instituting a partial smoking ban in 2007. But compared to those bans that have caused smokers such dismay in Atlantic City and Ottawa, the Florida-based cruise line’s smoking ban doesn’t even apply to the on-ship bars and casinos.

Indeed, the cruise ship industry seems to be following the opposite track of most US states and municipalities – as they grow more restrictive toward smoking, cruise lines are growing more permissive. One completely smoke-free cruise ship line went out of business awhile ago; another once-smokeless line changed its policies to allow some smoking on the boat.

Smokers will likely want to evaluate cruise line policies prior to booking as there are has examples of ships with almost smoke-free policies. Smoking on such lines may only be permitted in two designated areas – and if you light up anywhere else, you could be kicked off the boat! (That presumably doesn’t mean you’ll be forced to walk the plank, but it’s probably not worth finding out.)

Another rule of thumb mentioned by several travel writers: if you’re looking for company as you smoke, go for a cruise line with a high number of European and Asian clientele. Citizens of many of these countries often still smoke in higher numbers than do contemporary Americans, and there is a Spain-based cruise line that currently sports the least restrictive smoking policy out there.

About the Author:

CigarFox provides you the opportunity to build your own sampler of the finest cigars that include cigar brands like Montecristo, Romeo & Julieta, H Upmann, Macanudo, Cohiba, Partagas, Gurkha and many more. Choose from more than 1200 different cigars! Other cigar products include cigar humidors, cigar boxes, and cigar accessories like Zippo Lighters.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – A Smoke At Sea: Cruise Ships Offer Smoking Vacations For Cigar Fans

The cigar has long been seen as a luxury of the rich and famous.  Pictures of well-heeled men drawing on different types of cigars and nursing a glass of aged brandy have been well documented and immortalized in movies and TV.  If you are getting curious about cigars and want to loosen up with a stogie and an adult beverage after a hard day’s work, here are a few hints to get you going. 

Traditionally, cigars have been mated with a hard liquor.  Popular liquors include brandy, rum, and whiskey.  It has been debated that good cigars should always be matched with a potent drink that has a suggestion of sweetness.  Cigar smokers have long savored these popular unions.  For ages, the idea of pairing different types of cigars with beer has gone overlooked. 

But why overlook good old beer?  Recently, the trend has been to pair cigars with various varieties of beer as it seems that as cigars have entered the mainstream.  What better way to enjoy a puff of this newly popularized delicacy than to mate it with beer?  Pairing a better cigar with a satisfactory beer is not an easy feat, but when attained is well worth the effort.  Much of the pairing off has to do with your expertise.  If you are a beginner, you will in all likelihood need help in mating your particular cigar with the proper beer.  If you have a more knowledgeable taste, and you recognize what you like, you can probably make a connection between certain types of cigars and a great beer. 

As cigars are so strong and flavorsome, one of the challenges is to find a beer that complements the strength of many types of cigars.  For that reason, many types of cigars will match nicely with a good barley wine or a single malt scotch.  If your cigar can be distinguished as spicy, woody, with a hint of cedar, try matching it with a barley wine.  The fruity tinge of a barely wine ought to complement nicely with the pungent flavor of your cigar.  The combination of a savory cigar with a somewhat fruity beer can also create a taste that heightens the qualities in each significantly.

If you don’t have a clue as to which flavor combinations could work, try out different ones.  First, come up with the types of cigars that you like.  Then try to distinguish the characteristics that you enjoy about it.  Only then find a beer whose flavor you think might go well with the cigar.  Many unthinkable combinations have been arrived at this way.

About the Author:

For more information about types of cigars visit
http://www.typesofcigars.info

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Which Types of Cigars Go With Which Liquor?

Cigar – Movies & TV (live footage, pictures)

There’s only one way to know if your advertising copy is any good. It’s the same way that your customer knows it-it sells!

We are not all born copywriters, but we are all born customers. As a natural born customer, you can recognize good copy…

Step outside yourself and read the copy fresh: does it reach out and connect with you, does it hold your interest, does it promise something real that you really want, does it convince you?

“It has been said that advertising space without good copy is like the wooden Indian in
front of a cigar store:  It locates the store but it doesn’t say anything.” Thus began an article about advertising copy written in the year the Titanic went down. What else did this sage of sales have to say in 1912?

“Good advertising copy does three things: 
         First:    Attracts attention. 
         Second:  Interests the reader. 
         Third:   Convinces the reader.
 
“The first mission of an advertisement… is to attract attention.  The attention of the reader may be secured by pictures, trade marks, striking headlines… Copy must be terse, clear cut, and to the point. It must consist of short, crisp sentences. Long words should be avoided where possible.  This is a busy world.  Few people have time for long-winded descriptions and explanations.” (Churchill, for one, agrees: “Short words are best, and the old words when short are best of all.”)

Then and now, you know if the copy pulls you in. Even if it’s your product-even if it’s your copy-you know. Now for gaining and keeping interest…

“To make your advertising interesting, you must not only set forth the merits and quality of the article advertised, but you must make clear how it will benefit the purchaser. For example, if you are advertising a moving picture machine for use in the home… Point out the great benefit to be derived from the ownership of such a machine. 

“Tell how it will entertain the whole family and their friends both young and old.  How it will help to keep the boys at home in the evenings… In selling an automobile the important thing to advertise is… the pleasure that the car affords; the joy and healthfulness of riding through the country… how it makes it convenient to call on distant friends, etc. etc.

“To tell what the article advertised will do for the purchaser in the way of entertainment, education, comfort, convenience, etc., is really of more importance than the thing itself.”

These words may have been written over 100 years ago but it’s hard to express it any better today, which is why you’re reading them here.

Next, the bottom line-convincing the reader. That bottom line is right where it has been all along, because it is not drawn in the sand of fashion; it has nothing (and everything) to do with hemlines and bumpers. The bottom line is drawn in the unchanging human heart.

“A salesman must first sell to himself before he can sell it to others… The advertisement that brings the best results is the one that is written by the man who honestly believes in the goods that he is selling.”

Does that conviction come through? You’ll know when it does, because it’s more contagious than influenza. Ted Nicholas, “The Guru of Direct Mail Marketing,” is as savvy today as the wise man of 1912. “Certain words produce amazing results, as if by magic. All you desire in life, including everlasting wealth, can be yours depending on the words with which you express yourself.  As with all the great truths, once known, they seem so simple.”

There’s an old saying, “Be your own best customer.” That’s all the more true when it comes to judging your advertising.

About the Author:

Robert Greenshields is a marketing success coach who helps business owners and professionals who are frustrated that they’re working too many hours for too little reward. Sign up for his free tips on earning more and working less at
MindPower Marketing

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Timeless Marketing Truth: How Do You Know Your Advertising Copywriting Is Good?

Manny Iriarte / Cigar Advertising

4th of July Cigar