Cigar News: Jersey Golfers Unite!

Calling out to all Jersey golfers!  Calling out to all Jersey golfers!  This just in.  Someset County Park Commission WANTS to start selling cigars at their golf courses.  Yes, you heard me.  They WANT to!  But, of course, the local media has already started its crusade to get them to stop.  They’re afraid that the nice manacured grass isn’t going to be as pretty.  I guess that’s it; I don’t know.  I don’t see them trying to stop the selling of alcohol on golf courses, and I know beer cans get thrown around.  I digress…

The question here is whether or not a county (read: government institute) should be involved in the sale of tobacco.  That’s the spin.  Forget that it’s a revenue generator for the county which probably has road and education issues like the rest of the country.  Forget that cigars and golf just go hand-in-hand.  Forget that we don’t need a nanny-state watching over our every movement.  They want to make sure that the government doesn’t condone the sale of tobacco.  sigh.

You can read the article for yourself below, but I encourage all Jersey golfers and cigar smokers to contact Somerset County Park Commission and let them know you’d LOVE to see them sell cigars on the golf course.

One of the attractions of golf is spending a day outdoors to enjoy a challenging sport and get some much needed exercise and fresh air.

The rampant use of carts, especially on courses where cart rentals are mandatory, has cut down on the amount of exercise. But worse, at a time when society’s standards are beginning to shun tobacco use, smoking is still tolerated on golf courses. Cigarette butts litter an otherwise finely manicured course and the obnoxious odor of cigars often lingers by tees, greens and practice areas, fouling the otherwise fresh air.

Which makes it puzzling why the Somerset County Park Commission wants to start selling cigars at its five courses.

Even more bewildering is that the decision to start selling cigars comes after the park commission was criticized in a 2007 independent report for not collecting sales tax on cigars. That caused the park commission to stop selling cigars.

“I think it’s a terrible development,” Freeholder Director Jack Ciattarelli said about selling cigars at the golf courses. “And the notion of government being in the business of selling tobacco on recreational grounds is awful.”

Ciattarelli said he will ask County Counsel Thomas Miller to determine whether it’s legally permissible for a governmental agency to sell tobacco products on county-owned property.

But even if it’s legal, is it proper?

The freeholder director is also justifiably incensed that the park commission seemingly has not learned all the lessons from its past mistakes.

“I’m disappointed that park commissioners almost slowly but surely seem to be returning to policies that didn’t serve the public’s best interests,” Ciattarelli said, adding he won’t vote to reappoint commission members who vote in favor of selling cigars at the golf courses.

Ciattarelli’s criticism is well-placed. There is no conceivable reason why the park commission, with its wide array of recreational programs for people of all ages and abilities, should be in the business of selling cigars or other tobacco products.

And it’s also time for the park commission to start thinking about a smoking ban at all of its facilities.

The park commission has the admirable goal of improving the quality of life for Somerset County residents and it does a very good job working toward that goal. But selling tobacco products is directly contrary to that goal.

Let’s hope the park commission scrambles from the rough and gets back on the fairway by rejecting this proposal.

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100312/OPINION01/3120313/-1/newsfront/Park-commission-should-snuff-out-its-own-cigar-plan

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1. 

   Erwin Garcia says:

   March 17, 2010 at 12:20 am

   Freedoms slowly being taken away – it’s becoming a “John Cocteau”, reference to a scene in “Demoliton Man”.
2. 

   Jim Crane says:

   March 17, 2010 at 1:48 pm

   I used to live in Somerset, NJ, so this kind of hits close to home. I would just tell everyone to bring their own cigars to the golf course. This way you know where your cigar has been and you will probably pay a cheaper price for it!