http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125660066262509223.html OCTOBER 28, 2009 To the FDA, This Indonesian Smoke Is Close but No Cigar With Ban on Clove Cigarettes, Importer Claims Its Product Is All Stogie By BARRY NEWMAN Getty Images Cloves are popular in Indonesia, above. Importer Kretek International wants its product declared a cigar to get around a ban in the U.S. ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar -- unless the Food and Drug Administration and a congressional committee think it might be a cigarette. The cigar (or cigarette) in question is called a kretek . Kreteks are cigarettes that blend tobacco and cloves. Billions are smoked in Indonesia, wreathing that country in the scent of studded oranges. A few weeks ago, though, clove cigarettes were banned in the U.S. on the grounds that their fragrance is a come-on to children. It was the FDA's first act under a law giving it t...
life, from my point of view :)