Pres Obama is asking Congress to normalize realtions and allow casual travel

[Stradawhovious]

I used to buy a couple of brands and styles then stopped smoking. I LOVED H. Upmann.

I'm running low on those... time to stock up!

 

[The_Traveler]

To Cuba.

I am on the first plane.

Read the fine print. Only thing that has changed is that you can now bring back $400 worth of goods, and use dollars. You must still be in a group for education etc to get a visa.

What keeps me from going now is exactly the issue of being in a group.
Movement is curtailed and the costs/day are extravagant.
I want to go where I want and when.

 

[Designer]

I used to buy a couple of brands and styles then stopped smoking. I LOVED H. Upmann.

I'm running low on those... time to stock up!

Now dammit, Stradawhovious! You're going to get me smoking again!

 

[Stradawhovious]

I used to buy a couple of brands and styles then stopped smoking. I LOVED H. Upmann.

I'm running low on those... time to stock up!

Now dammit, Stradawhovious! You're going to get me smoking again!

PM me your addy.

I'm an enabler.

 

[mcap1972]

Love Havana. Photog's paradise.

 

[manny212]

Must ask a question , as a Cuban , living in Miami , I can get most cigars ( cuban ) on the street here through reputable merchants . Cubans, are not what the used to be . The seed has spread , Santo Domingo, where climate is appropriate , and the product has become better . Anyone ?

 

[Stradawhovious]

Must ask a question , as a Cuban , living in Miami , I can get most cigars ( cuban ) on the street here through reputable merchants . Cubans, are not what the used to be . The seed has spread , Santo Domingo, where climate is appropriate , and the product has become better . Anyone ?

Tobacco is like wine... good years and bad, and age makes a difference. I have some Punch Coronas from 1999 that are amazing... and have had some punch punch that are more recent that are fair at best. A 2005 Bolivar corona is probably my favorite ever smoke.

I appreciate what you're saying about Cuban seed being sewn in other places, but there is something about Island grown tobacco that is missing everywhere else. Maybe it's something in the water... or the soil... or maybe even the air, but there is a flavor profile you cant get anywhere else. Not to discount tobacco from other regions, just stating an observation.

It's possible that the soil is giving up the gost... dunno. There are some more recent sticks that are quite good though, so it wont stop me from picking them up.

 

[Designer]

PM me your addy.

I'm an enabler.

I'd better not. (take up smoking again)

 

[pgriz]

Whatever the pleasures of smoking, the consequences are pretty dire. My father-in-law died after his second lung operation due to cancer. My mother-in-law is alive, but doing less well than hoped due to emphysema caused by smoking. I have two relatives buried in the past two months, both due to smoking (throat cancer for one, lung for the other). Except for one brother-in-law, none of my cohort smoke (about 16 people). That brother-in-law is having issues with his eyes (apparently due to blood circulation issues), and some other health issues. In the next generation (my kids, nephews and nieces) 3 smoke (cohort of 18). Their health is noticeably less good than the non-smokers. Not being moralistic about this stuff, but the anecdotal evidence doesn't show that smoking is neutral.

 

[Stradawhovious]

...but the anecdotal evidence doesn't show that smoking is neutral.

I don't recall stating that it was, but thanks for the PSA. Smoking is bad, Mmmmkay? To be fair, if there is a literate person in any first world country that still believes smoking isn't risky business... well... They aren't very bright.

I'm aware of the implications. The fact is, I enjoy a good cigar, by myself, in my private cigar lounge, about once a week. There is a risk there for sure (for me... I do not subject anyone else to my guilty pleasure), but not the same as a pack a day cigarette smoker (cigar smoke isn't directly inhaled), nor is it the same as many other risky behaviours that consenting adults participate in.

Everyone has their vices!

 

[Warhorse]

The last cruise I was on stopped in one of the islands (can't remember which), and I bought a Cuban cigar. I had quit smoking cigarettes 6 months prior, and thought this would be safe. WRONG!...I immediately bought a carton of cigarettes upon my return to the ship.

I have not smoked in 5 1/2 years now, and will never ever have even a cigar again.

 

[Stradawhovious]

I have not smoked in 5 1/2 years now, and will never ever have even a cigar again.

Congrats! Quitting cigarettes is a nightmare.

 

[Mr. Innuendo]

I'll go. In a New York minute, I'll go.

Politics aside, it looks like an absolutely amazing place to go shoot. I can go through Canada to get there, but I'd prefer to go through Miami!

 

[Mr. Innuendo]

...but the anecdotal evidence doesn't show that smoking is neutral.

I don't recall stating that it was, but thanks for the PSA. Smoking is bad, Mmmmkay? To be fair, if there is a literate person in any first world country that still believes smoking isn't risky business... well... They aren't very bright.

I'm aware of the implications. The fact is, I enjoy a good cigar, by myself, in my private cigar lounge, about once a week. There is a risk there for sure (for me... I do not subject anyone else to my guilty pleasure), but not the same as a pack a day cigarette smoker (cigar smoke isn't directly inhaled), nor is it the same as many other risky behaviours that consenting adults participate in.

Everyone has their vices!

I smoked for 35 years, and quit almost three years ago (January 16th is my three year anniversary). Since then, I've had a few cigars, and haven't been at all tempted to go back to smoking.

 

[pgriz]

...but the anecdotal evidence doesn't show that smoking is neutral.

I don't recall stating that it was, but thanks for the PSA. Smoking is bad, Mmmmkay? To be fair, if there is a literate person in any first world country that still believes smoking isn't risky business... well... They aren't very bright.

I'm aware of the implications. The fact is, I enjoy a good cigar, by myself, in my private cigar lounge, about once a week. There is a risk there for sure (for me... I do not subject anyone else to my guilty pleasure), but not the same as a pack a day cigarette smoker (cigar smoke isn't directly inhaled), nor is it the same as many other risky behaviours that consenting adults participate in.

Everyone has their vices!

Wasn't trying to be moralistic about it, and it's a legal "vice". I totally respect your choices. But combustion products do produce all kinds of carcinogens, and the lower the combustion temperature, the more complex molecules are produced. Some people can handle these very well due to whatever genetic endowment they received, but many (probably most) do not. Actually some of the same issues apply to the charring that BBQ's cause, and inhalation of smoke from wood and peat fires. Typical carcinogens usually have a benzene ring or a polycyclic aromatic ring in the structure. Breakdown products of tryptophan (one of the essential amino acids) have been shown to be carcinogenic. Other carcinogens are related to nitrosamines (also produced by the breakdown of amino acids). So it's not just smoking that is contributing to adding carcinogens to our environment. On the other hand, we're also being subjected to routine cosmic ray bombardment, radiation from a variety of natural sources, and all kinds of other stuff that could (and does) churn up our DNA. Our bodies do have a certain level of ability to cope with this, some better than others.