Tuesday, June 07 2011
If a State passes a tobacco tax increase on cigars and no one is there to fight it, does it make a sound? The answer is no. It surreptitiously sneaks through, and the next thing you know, cigar smokers have a lot more room in the their wallets. At least that's how it used to be until Cigar Rights of America came along. Although they often work in partnership with the IPCPR and The Cigar Association of America, CRA, like The Tea Party, is a grass roots organization with a VERY LOUD voice. Although CRA's motto is "Fighting For The Freedom To Enjoy Premium Cigars," they could easily share the Tea Party motto: "Taxed Enough Already!"
Based in Fairfax, Virginia and spearheaded by Executive Director, Glynn J. Loope and Membership Director Brian Berman, the CRA has amassed an extensive nationwide following with a Board of Directors that reads like a Who's Who in the Premium Cigar Industry.
"CRA started in August 2008 as a 5-citiy tour (called the CRA Freedom Tour)," says Berman, "and today CRA has members in all 50 states. CRA has engaged in over 100 cigar-related battles and recently received a European Cigar Journal Trophy for our outstanding efforts."
The organization is involved with more than just taxes, too. According to its mission statement:
CRA is a consumer-based, non-profit public advocacy organization that works at the local, state, and federal level of government to protect the freedoms of cigar enthusiasts.
Together, with our constituency of nationwide members, we focus our fight for freedom in these core areas:
- Oppose Restrictive Smoking Bans
- Government Regulation of Cigars
- Oppose Taxation of Cigars
- Policy Measures Relating to Cigars
Just as The Tea Party was influential in electing Republicans to the House and Senate in the November 2010 elections, Cigar Rights of America has been successful at getting a number of States to make exceptions for casinos, restaurants and/or bars, curtail the amount of tobacco tax increases, or keep tax increases from passing entirely. They don't always win every fight, but they sure know how to shake things up. Beginning in May of last year, they launched a campaign program called "Smoke The Vote 2010 Grassroots Network."
According to the Smoke The Vote press release,"This will be the first national effort to truly impact elections on November 2, 2010, from the cigar enthusiast perspective. It’s a process. We may not change every seat we wish, but it starts – now."
Activism is as American as apple pie and baseball. Were it not for the dedication of CRA to pounce on these state-to-state issues and help cigar smokers all over the country maintain their right to continue enjoying cigars, things would be a lot tougher out there. The proof can be seen in their 2010 CRA Report Card.
"We are actually in the process of updating and need to add a lot more 'wins,'" added Mr. Berman.
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