A funding bill has been proposed to the Government of the Student Body Senate for allocations of $1,099 for the ISU Cigar and Pipe Smokers Society (ICPSS).

The ICPSS plans to use this money to purchase products for their club. The actual cigars will be paid for by the club.

The list of supplies is composed of various humidors, lighters, ashtrays, pipe tempers, pipes, carrying cases and a double-blade cutter.

“It seems to me like a very odd bill. There are better ways to spend the money,” said Senator Tricia Sandahl, graduate.

For those who are not experts on the cigar and pipe smoking materials, humidors are necessary to store the cigars at the right humidity level to keep them fresh, and so they don’t dry out.

The chosen humidors, which store various numbers of cigars, cost more than $1,000. The two largest humidors are able to store 100 cigars each and cost $385 apiece. The club will be able to keep 265 cigars on hand with all the humidors.

“[The 100-cigar humidors] are cheap humidors. The average price is $600 dollars for one,” said Senator John Hamilton, business, and a member of the ICPSS.

Sandahl, who said she has been smoking cigars for years, said that these were very nice humidors.

“I heard that these are solid cherry humidors. They’re very nice,” she said.

Sandahl also criticized the list, saying that most of the items weren’t necessary.

The double-blade cutter is a special cigar cutter used to make a clean cut on the cigar.

Two blades slice the cigar from opposite directions, eliminating the possibility of a bad cut. The double-blade cutter costs $50.

“I use a cheap $1.50 cutter I got from Wal-Mart. It works fine,” Sandahl said.

She also questioned the lighters, some of which are butane lighters. The butane lighters cost a total of $140.

“In my opinion, I think it takes away from the flavor of the cigar. The best taste is to use a wooden match and let it burn down a little, and then light the cigar,” she said.

Many opposers of the bill also question the relevance of a bill that aids students in damaging their bodies with nicotine.

Even though the money isn’t directly paying for the cigars, it is paying for the supplies used to smoke them.

Hamilton said, however, it is a “proven fact” that cigar smoking, in the proper amounts, can be good for the body.

According to the American Lung Association, though, all forms of smoking are hazardous to your health. Smoking related diseases also claim 419,000 American lives each year, and one in four smokers die early due to heart diseases and smoking caused diseases.

“I’m an ex-smoker … my point is that they (cigars) can kill you,” said Senator Milton McGriff, nontraditional. “I find it insane to put money into killing people,” he said.

Hamilton said this club shouldn’t be any different from any other club, though.

“We spend money on various supplies for clubs like the sky-diving club. Is that safe? This is no different from any other club,” he said.

The GSB Senate meeting to discuss the bill begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

“Right now it has no way in hell of passing. It’s very frivolous,” Sandahl said.