HAVANA, Cuba — “Centralization” has become a bad word in the Cuban lexicon lately, blamed by President Raul Castro as the source of the island’s enervating bureaucracy and economic stagnation. As part of his economic reform push, Castro wants to give more independence to Cuba’s state companies and local governments, freeing them from the need to obtain Havana’s permission for every little decision and expenditure. But a series of corruption scandals among Cuban executives in recent months has been a reminder as to how the island’s state-run economy got so centralized in the firs ... Jump to full article >>

If DeKalb County Commissioners vote to expand its no-smoking ordinance, it will be doing its best to drive away local business, says two Georgia-based premium cigar associations. According to the Atlanta-based Georgia Premium Retail Tobacconists Association and the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association, expanding the current smoking ban to include bars, clubs, restaurant patios and other outdoor areas would cause customers to seek other, more smoker-friendly businesses in other communities. “No time is a good time for legislated smoking bans, but this is a particularl ... Jump to full article >>

Manuel Garcia, a long-time vice-president of Cuba’s cigar industry, has been arrested and 10 of his staffers may face trial for corruption, according to the British news magazine The Economist. In a report posted Thursday on its Web site, the newsweekly reported Garcia, the No. 2 at Habanos S.A., has been in jail since August, “accused of mastermind graft on a grand scale.” Cuban investigators believe Garcia and 10 of his staffers, “who also face trial,’’ were accepting bribes in exchange for selling Cuban cigars at a discount to black market distributors in the Caribbean, The Ec ... Jump to full article >>

SPOKANE, Wash. — Cigar smokers around the country are fed up with smoking bans that prevent them from enjoying stogies in cigar bars with friends. A rising number of states have moved to exempt cigars from indoor smoking bans, often by establishing cigar bars or smoking lounges inside cigar stores. Pro-cigar groups have sprung up nationally and in most states, spreading a message that their product is fundamentally different from cigarettes. Cigar smokers are not interested in exposing the general public to their pungent fumes, said Joe Arundel, president of the Cigar Association of Washing ... Jump to full article >>

SPOKANE, Wash. | As quests for freedom go, it’s not exactly the fight against apartheid in South Africa. But cigar smokers around the country are fed up with smoking bans that prevent them from enjoying stogies in cigar bars with friends. A rising number of states have moved to exempt cigars from indoor smoking bans, often by establishing cigar bars or smoking lounges inside cigar stores. Pro-cigar groups have sprung up nationally and in most states, spreading a message that their product is fundamentally different from cigarettes. Cigar smokers are not interested in exposing the general pub ... Jump to full article >>

The public will breathe a little easier, knowing the Birmingham City Commission is taking extra precautions in reviewing a bistro plan for Churchill’s Cigar Bar. On Monday, the commission spent about an hour reviewing the proposal before postponing any action until April 25. The commission in particular wants to make sure the establishment has an adequate ventilation system that not only provides fresh air for customers inside the bistro, but also the surrounding area. “If we get it wrong we’re going to have people walking around downtown Birmingham on a warm summer day and sayi ... Jump to full article >>

Smoking was allowed once again at the Four Seasons Restaurant Tuesday night as Cigar Aficionado boss Marvin Shanken kicked off a charity fundraising auction for Michael Milken’s Prostate Cancer Foundation that netted $1.8 million. “This was a record year in terms of the amount of money raised,” said Shanken, who brought the event back after skipping the past two years due to the economy. Twenty different cigar brands were smoked at the pre-dinner cocktail party in the Grill Room. The biggest single donor of the night was cancer survivor Pierluigi Tolaini, a former Canadian ... Jump to full article >>

A bill to allow smoking in cigar lounges and tobacco shops in Washington has been moving forward in the state Legislature, but it has been controversial every step of the way. Senate Bill 5542, which had a hearing Wednesday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee, would set up special smoking endorsements people could buy and contribute the money to the state’s Basic Health Program. Supporters say the proposal would be safe, but opponents argue it would be bad health policy for Washington. Sen. Jerome Delvin, a Richland Republican and the bill’s sponsor, said it was a good opportunity for t ... Jump to full article >>

OTTAWA — The federal government plans to introduce legislation Tuesday that, if passed, would make good on a campaign promise to ban flavoured tobacco products that are considered appealing to children. The bill, “An Act to Amend the Tobacco Act,” also is expected to mandate that mini-cigars, called cigarillos, must be sold in packages of at least 20, and that all tobacco advertising and promotion in print and electronic media that may be viewed and read by young people is prohibited. More details will be revealed when the bill is introduced in the House of Commons by Health Mini ... Jump to full article >>

St. Paul, Minn. — The Minnesota Senate is considering legislation that would raise the tax on so-called little cigars to the same rate as cigarettes. The tobacco products are the same size as cigarettes, but are currently taxed at a lower rate. Anti-smoking activists say the little cigars are targeted to children. The bill would bring in additional revenue to the state, but Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, told members of the Senate Taxes Committee Thursday that her main goal is to stop children from smoking. “The number one addiction out there for these kids is tobacco,” Rosen sa ... Jump to full article >>

Gallagher used to enjoy strolling down the street every morning, getting a cup of java and a newspaper, and smoking a cigar in Concordia Park, near his home in the DeMun neighborhood. “It’s one of life’s simple pleasures,” said Gallagher, 55, a retired vineyard owner from Napa, Calif., who moved to Clayton about three years ago. That pleasure ended on Jan. 1, when Clayton’s ban on smoking in parks went into effect. On Thursday, while puffing on cigars on the sidewalk abutting Shaw Park near downtown Clayton, Gallagher and his legal team announced they had filed a ... Jump to full article >>