This is an old thread, but since someone else posted on it today, i might as well post the rewards of the fight we gave the FORMER 130% WA state tax and a little update on the new smoking ban as well.
First of all, after many letters and much effort from the local cigar community we were able to get the WA tobacco taxes cut down from 130% to a cap of just .50 cents per cigar! This means that a box of cigars that wholesaled to a retailer for $100 would have cost them $230 after taxes. They would have to sell that same box for $250 just to make a profit on them, while you could get the same thing over the net for around $120 or so. That same $100 box would now cost the retailer only $110 after taxes (assuming that there were 20 cigars in the box). That's one helluva difference. The result was more affordable local cigar prices for the consumer and increased sales and competitive ability for the retailer.
However, as soon as we fought our arses off to get the tax lowered, the legislators passed a ban on public smoking altogether. So now there's a new battle to fight.
The smoking ban which recently passed here was among the most restrictive in the nation. Thank God my local happens to be on a reservation and so it didn't effect me personally, however cigar bars are no longer available here on non-tribal public property. The ban also includes spaces within 25 feet of an open door or window in a public establishment. This would force cigar shops to build tents or other portable smoking stations in the middle of parkinglots, etc and pretty much makes any city sidewalk off limits.
Some of my local herfers, in an attempt to show the over-extention of the ban, all got together and started walking down the crowded city streets (a decent-sized group of cigar smokers producing a large plume of smoke). When folks complained about the smell they replied, "you voted us out here...we'd much rather be at the cigar bar down the street!" That was a great way to send a very important message, namely, the ban is WAY OVER THE TOP and wasn't well thought out.
However, there is currently an effort to make some changes to this new legislature. I'm thinking that the pendulum will eventually swing back to something less extreme and far more reasonable. No smoking in family restaraunts, great idea. No smoking in bars, now that should be up to the establishment (not big brother). But certainly smoke shops and cigar bars ought to be allowed to have smoking, that's a no brainer. They simply went too far with the legislature. A lot of people had their heads so far up their butts they could hear the ocean on this one! :c