Money Saver: Kitty Litter in Cigars?

Okay, I’ve heard of fillers, think of the recent horse meat scandals that have us all shivering at the thought, but seriously, kitty litter in cigars?  I can’t let this one go by without comment or grave concern.  I can’t decide if the Tobacco industry is taking their disregard of human life (scientific knowledge that smoking in the number preventable cause of death) a step farther or is this some sort of back room joke?  Or is the estimated $1 billion in tax dollars  they will save?  Bloomberg reported this in, “Tobacco Firms Save Billion with Kitty Litter in Cigars”.  This is what I find rather irritating regarding adding kitty litter related materials to cigars:

photo courtesy of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids

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• At a certain weight, cigars are taxed differently.  Therefore, tobacco companies need to make their cigars heavier and by using the same clay compound found in kitty litter it works in producing a heavier, less taxed product.
• The kitty litter is tucked away in the filter, so how many cigar smokers know they are smoking kitty litter.  Hum, remind you of the horse meat situation?
• Again, given what we know about tobacco, why are we still having these conversations?
• As a taxpayer, guess who is going to have to make up for this $1 Billion in lost tax revenue.  Yup, me and I’m not happy about it.
• Also, not happy: the cats in the event there becomes a kitty litter shortage due to battling it out with a cigar companies (okay, I can’t prove that one, but is sure did make me chuckle).

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 photo courtesy of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids

My hope is that one day this cat and mouse game ends and the tobacco industry turns to newer industries that do not harm people.  The bottom line here is just that:  the bottom line.  As long as people buy these products, the tobacco companies will continue to produce them.   Look at Quinoa or gluten free products.  People started buying those and companies are now adding on these product lines.

Cleary, I am not amused by the $1 Billion tax saving tobacco companies are after as they use kitty litter to weight down cigars.   Rings too close to the horse meat scandal.  Thankfully, we have members in Congress (Senator Dick Durbin) who are trying to stop this practice by changing the law to tax these heavier cigars.

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