Arango Cigar Co. is now the exclusive U.S. distributor for the complete line of Woodmere pipe furniture and cigar humidors.

Arango’s president, Michael Gold, announced the appointment, saying, "These hand-crafted Woodmere products span a broad spectrum of smoking accessories, making it convenient for pipe and cigar lovers to find just what they’re looking for … high quality at reasonable prices."

Woodmere produces an extensive array of furniture in teakwood and walnut. Pipe racks for desk or wall mounting come in sizes holding one to 36 pipes. For armchair smoking convenience, Woodmere combines them with crystal glass or polished brass ashtrays and tobacco jars, all mounted on the hardwood bases.

Gold states, "We are pleased to have partnered with a producer of distinctive smoking products, especially considering their surprisingly affordable prices. Their performance and quality, at a reasonable cost, offer true value." All products are now available from Arango Cigar Co.’s retail tobacconists.

Woodmere also produces humidors, from 10-cigar desk/travel models to 200-cigar prestige cases.

Tanya is a "Black-Haired Beauty with Big Dark Eyes" indulging in the succulent sweet taste of her pipe tobacco.

Devil With a Blue Dress On Smoking a Pipe - CLICK HERE FOR FULL GALLERY

By: Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers’ Brains"
Mid-Atlantic Regional Director of the CitizensFreedomAlliance.org

UPDATED May 10, 2011 - New revised PDF Download at the end of the article.

Smokers often find themselves in the uncomfortable position of defending their chosen practice against accusations by family, friends, or even complete strangers that they are harming people around them. That accusation has been the basis for smoking bans extending far beyond reason and is usually backed up by vague waves at "mountains of studies," claims that "all the experts agree," assurances that bans will be "cost-free" and "won’t hurt employment," and the repetition of empty but powerful sound bites learned from MTV and professional press-releases.

The freely downloadable and printable booklet offered below, the Stiletto, exposes "The Lies Behind Smoking Bans" and is designed specifically to counter claims made to back up the bans that have not only taken over our workplaces and recreational gatherings but are now reaching even into our private living spaces and personal off-the-job lives. It is designed to be quickly and easily read in print-out form in dimly lit bars or on restaurant counters and packs strong information and analysis into its 20 pages. It can be bound in the clear plastic student-term-paper type report covers cheaply available from Staples or school-supply shelves anywhere or it can be simply corner-stapled. Its argument is quite clearly one-sided, but its facts are accurate and their presentation is honest.

Anyone who would like a customized copy for a particular campaign (say within a specific state, university, or job setting) is welcome to contact the author for an editable .doc file format or assistance in such customization. Antismoking advocates have all the money to push their bans (The AMA’s 2001 report revealed that "Tobacco Control" received over $880 million dollars just in that year alone.) but the facts, and the truth, are on our side if we can get them out to public view. Download the Stiletto, print it out, bind it, and share it with others.

Next time you’re confronting an Antismoker, don’t argue with them: hand them a Stiletto and simply ask them to find anything at all in it that they can point to as incorrect or misleading. They won’t be able to.

Keep on fighting!

Download PDF

Get the Book Dissecting Anit-Smokers Brains

February 20th is International Pipe Smoking Day. This month will mark the 3rd annual event, or holiday if you will. So mark your calendars now as it is right around the corner. International Pipe Smoking Day was started by Smoker’s Forums in 2008. In 2009 it was embraced by Comite International des Pipe Clubs and The United Pipe Clubs of America (UPCA), and much of the pipe smoking world. The call goes out to all pipe smokers to organize pipe smoker events held at 9:00 p.m. and announce them in the national, regional and local press to draw as much attention to pipe smoking in general as possible.

I would like to take International Pipe Smoking Day a step further.

Cornell & Diehl’s Kajun Kake is aptly named. It has Perique Tobacco, hence "Kajun" and it is a crumble cake cut, therefore, "Kake". We have another reason for the word "Kake", as it is a mildly sweet blend with its’ main component being Red Virginia Cavendish. When you open the tin you see a solid, slightly rectangular block that actually looks like a piece of cake or a brownie. It looks delicious, but keep this one out of reach of small children as they make take a bite out of it! It looks that good. The tin aroma smells like cake too - like a mild rum cake. That must be the Cavendish and maybe the subliminal suggestion of the cake look of the tobacco cube. It is quite interesting how this blend melds together Cavendish and Perique to form a unique taste.

If you smoke Stanwell Pipes, or Erinmore, Clan, W.Ø. Larsen or CAO pipe tobacco, you may not know that they all come from the same parent company, Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S.

STG has signed a letter of intent with Swedish Match to form a worldwide company with focus on cigars and pipe tobacco.

In addition to many of the top cigar brands, Swedish Match also makes Borkum Riff and Half&Half pipe tobaccos.

• Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) – formerly named Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni - will contribute all its tobacco business (cigars, pipe tobacco and fine cut tobacco)
• Swedish Match (SM) will contribute all its cigar business (with the exception of US mass market cigars), as well as its pipe tobacco and accessories business
• Completion of the transaction is subject to due diligence by both parties, final transaction agreements, bondholder approval, and regulatory review and approval

In accordance with its strategic vision to become a world leader in cigars and a leading player in smoking tobacco, STG has signed a letter of intent with SM to form a company combining the tobacco business of STG with the cigars businesses of SM (with the exception of SM’s US mass market cigar business). The company will also include the pipe tobacco and accessories business of SM, as well as distribution of lighters and matches in relevant markets.

The combined entity will have an annual turnover of just under MEUR 700 and a combined volume of more than 2.5 billion cigars and 1,650 tons of pipe tobacco, placing it firmly as one of the largest cigar companies in the world and as world leader in pipe tobacco. The company will have leading positions in the markets for premium cigars in the US and for cigars in Europe, and hold strong positions in a number of other markets. Its leading cigar brands will include brands such as Café Crème, Henri Wintermans, Colts and Mercator, among others, from STG, with SM contributing brands such as Macanudo, Partagas (US), Punch (US) and La Paz. Its leading pipe tobacco brands will include Erinmore, Clan and W.Ø. Larsen from STG and Borkum Riff and Half&Half from SM.

STG will hold 51% of the shares in the new company, with the remaining 49% of the shares being held by SM. On the basis of the preliminary valuations, which are subject to due diligence by both parties, STG will compensate SM by approximately MEUR 40 to account for the planned shareholding and the relative differences in enterprise values on a debt and cash free basis. Anders Colding Friis, CEO of STG, will become CEO of the new company.

SM produces and sells market-leading brands in smoke-free tobacco products, cigars, lighters and matches. SM’s global operations generated sales of MSEK 14,139 for the twelve months period ending September 30, 2009. It has production units in 10 countries and the SM share is listed on the NASDAQ OMX in Stockholm.

"The Letter of Intent marks the intention of both parties to form a value enhancing business combination within the cigar and smoking tobacco industry. Such a business combination would be complementary, create synergies and result in an overall stronger company," says Anders Colding Friis, CEO of Scandinavian Tobacco Group.

Completion of the transaction is subject to due diligence by both parties, final transaction agreements, as well as bondholder and regulatory approvals. Signing is expected during the first half of 2010 and completion as soon as possible thereafter. Please note that there can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed.

Scandinavian Tobacco Group produces and sells cigars, pipe tobacco and fine cut tobacco in more than 115 countries around the world. The group has around 3,400 employees and is headquartered in Denmark. The products are sold via sales subsidiaries in Europe, Canada and the US and a network of distributors. Production facilities are located in Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua. Key cigar brands are Café Crème, Henri Wintermans, Colts and Mercator. The most important pipe tobacco brands are Erinmore, Clan, W.Ø. Larsen and Stanwell. Key fine cut brands are Escort, Tiedemanns and Crossroad.

We just updated the list of Pipe Shows for this year.

There are shows in St. Louis, New York, Raleigh, Chicago, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Columbus, Richmond, and Las Vegas.

http://pipesmagazine.com/pipe-events/