Another month and I consider it a personal victory that I am still able to enjoy fine D&R tobacco and Zen tubes at an affordable price.  A year ago a lot of us were wondering whether or not this was going to be possible.  While we don’t have all the selection that we had last year at this time, we still are doing pretty good all things considered.

The two vendors that I deal with, pipesandcigars.com and Tricia’s Café a.k.a. D&R, still have a wide variety.  Although I’m not fond of most of the pipe cut, God bless Mark Ryan for continuing to make Three Sails and Ryback.  This month we got six bags of Three Sails, two 3 1/2 ounce cups of Ryback and 10 boxes of Zen 100′s.

Normally I order tubes every other month, and tobacco every month.  But of course last month running short I’ve determined never to do that again if possible.  Of course my lungs not being what they once were the Ryback definitely is not an everyday smoke.  I normally like three or four in the morning along with coffee, they definitely will open my eyes.

Three Sails continue to be the everyday smoke, a beautiful shag that is easy to stuff and lots of flavor.  I know a lot of the time that I sound like a broken record, but with the only alternative paying 2200% more for gambler or God forbid Stokkebye which at last look was 43 bucks and change per can, Three Sails and Ryback make me smile every month.

I guess I could be considered a discerning smoker.  I won’t just smoke anything because it’s cheap.  After last month when I had to buy some local, I was actually contemplating quitting if this was all I had to choose from.  Like I said last month, the cheap pipe cut I was able to get was absolutely the nastiest tobacco I think I’ve ever smoked and even though I’ve been accused of having low standards, I don’t think I’ll ever sink that low ever again anytime soon.

Now there are plenty of people who claim they do this strictly for the cost savings.  I will admit that’s why I went back a number of years ago to RYO/MYO.

My cost breakdown is pretty much as follows:

Four bags of Three Sails (enough for four cartons or 80 packs) $86.92

Seven boxes of Zen tubes (80 packs= 1600 tubes seven boxes= 1750 tubes) $21.70

Shipping (I’ll use a shipping charge for four bags and 10 boxes of tubes) $25.50

For a grand total of $134.12 divide that by 80= and you come up to $1.68 when you round up 1.6765.

Now I don’t know about anybody else out there, but I’m on a fixed income.  If I could pay $1.68 per pack for a damn fine smoke, versus $6 per pack for a pre-manufactured cigarette that in my opinion isn’t worth $.50, it’s really a no-brainer.

Of course I’m liable to catch a little flak over what I’m about to say next.  If you consider $1.68 per pack to be spending too much money, you are either obsessed with not spending money (in other words you are a tight ass) or you really can’t afford to be smoking.  I mean if you’ve got five kids, a mortgage, two car payments and are barely making ends meet, and feel that you have to smoke absolute crap or not smoke and $1.68 per pack in your opinion is too much money, me personally I would really think about quitting at that point.

And I’m not trying to pass judgment on anybody or any lifestyle.  I just can’t fathom smoking absolute crap to try and save $20 or $30 overall per month.  Because if $20 or $30 per month is actually a breaking point for you, then you need to re-examine some of your priorities, I know I would.

I’ve been accused in the past of being a bit snobbish when it comes to tobacco, and I’ve had discussions with those who had to absolutely save every nickel they can save while smoking.  Personally I just believe if it came down to that for me I would probably quit.  Yes the wife and I are on fixed incomes, but we also don’t have a lot of normal everyday expenses that a lot of other people do.  We own our RV and vehicles outright, so I understand that I normally have a little bit more disposable income even though I’m on a fixed income than most working couple with children and a lot more bills.

I was lucky when I was raising children that the price of cigarettes aren’t what they are today, I’ll be the first to admit that.  But for me life is just too damn short to let $.30 a pack keep me from enjoying a cigarette versus just going through the motions of feeding an addiction.

Of course all this means nothing if Congress and our illustrious president decides to screw us again and close loopholes that exist in SCHIP II.  If they decide to nail pipe tobacco now that most manufacturers have decided to either switch to or offer pipe cuts, we’re going to be cooked anyway.

Personally I’ll have to weigh that decision when it comes.  I’ll have to decide how much is too much per pack to enjoy a cigarette.  I haven’t really given it that much thought were my price point will be, but I’m thinking most likely it will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.35 per pack or roughly double what I’m paying today.  It’s not that I’m welcoming a price increase, or would absorb it without bitching.  I’m just being realistic and looking at my current finances and thinking to myself where would I say “enough of this shit.”

Everybody’s going to have to make that decision eventually.  I firmly believe that Congress in the next nine months and our illustrious president as soon as they get finished with trying to ram healthcare down our throats, will realize that they’re not getting the revenue that they expected with SCHIP II.  As soon as the CBO issues a report showing that SCHIP II was an abject failure, I firmly expect they will do everything in their power to rectify it.

Which is why I have started another website called tossCongress.com one of the pieces of legislation that I have highlighted was SCHIP II.  I listed every congressman and senator and how they voted on SCHIP II.  I implore every smoker to take a look at these lists and regardless of party affiliation or how you feel of other issues regarding politics, look at your Senator or Representative and see where they voted about raising your taxes simply because you decide to enjoy a perfectly legal American-made and American grown product.

Because if they’ll raise taxes on you because you smoke, they’ll raise taxes on anybody because of any behavior.  That’s not a Republican thing or Democratic thing, not a conservative thing or a liberal thing, it’s just a fact of life.  Here are the two links to the voting records for SCHIP II Senate vote and the congressional vote.

If your Senator or Congressman voted aye, and they are up for reelection in November, it’s time to issue them a pink slip.  Get involved, if you can’t contribute monetarily, volunteer to knock on doors and help get out the vote.  Do everything you can to help your congressman or senator retire and help elect a candidate that doesn’t support taxing one segment of society simply because they engage in the use of legal product.

Make this the litmus test of where your vote goes.  There are more than 36 million of us, and we should have a voice in the federal legislature.  Until we decide to stand up and say no more, we are going to continue to get screwed at every turn.

Mr. SCSI out

Share on Facebook