Tobacco Use Info » business

OutdoorSmoking Ban to Blow Away Business Says Two Premium Cigar Associations

admin — Tue, 03 May 2011 07:13:55 +0000

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 >>

New Owners of Tobacco Shop in Downtown Hartford Say Store will Reopen May 9

admin — Tue, 03 May 2011 06:49:35 +0000

After 91 years, The Tobacco Shop in downtown Hartford was about to close this spring. Shop owner Jim DeLisle said he couldn’t afford a rent increase imposed by the building’s owner, and potential buyers seemed as scarce as a genuine Cuban cigar. But four former patrons purchased the shop and are moving the business to 89 Pratt St., a 2,000-square-foot retail space that was formerly a shoe store. The Tobacco Shop will reopen May 9, if not sooner, said one of the new owners, who asked not to be identified. He would not disclose how much he and his three partners paid for the business ... Jump to full article >>

A leader of Cuba’s cigar industry arrested

admin — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 09:14:10 +0000

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 >>

Businesses disgruntled by possible ban on menthol cigarettes

admin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:44:36 +0000

Businesses are not pleased about the push by Senator Richard Blumenthal LAW ‘73 to ban menthol cigarettes. In an Apr. 18 letter, Blumenthal expressed his support for the United States Food and Drug Administration’s call to ban cigarettes with more than 0.3 percent menthol by weight. But six New Haven store proprietors interviewed said they were worried about how this move would negatively affect thier business profits. While business operators and smokers interviewed agreed that the potential ban would have public health benefits, they said business interests and personal freedom should al ... Jump to full article >>

Cigarette prices may rise by 83% next year

admin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:16:04 +0000

The price of local cigarettes could go up by as much as 83 percent next year based on estimates drawn up by the Finance Department on the seven excise tax bills pending in Congress. Finance compared revenue estimates and price increases under several proposals to reform the excise tax on alcohol and tobacco products now lodged with the House Committee on Ways and Means. Finance said the price of local cigarettes could increase by 82.9 percent in 2012 if the government opted for House Bill 3465 filed by Batanes Rep. Henedina Abad and HB 3489 by Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., both seeking to restru ... Jump to full article >>

FDA asks tobacco companies for factory tours

admin — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:22:24 +0000

The Food and Drug Administration wants to get schooled in cigarette making. The federal agency’s 2-year-old Center for Tobacco Products is asking tobacco companies to invite it to tour farms and factories that grow or process tobacco. It says the visits are meant to help the agency better understand how each step in the process — from field to package — could influence the final product. The FDA wants to tour large and small cigarette factories, a smokeless-tobacco plant, tobacco farms, a rolling-paper factory and a tobacco warehouse. The agency won the authority to regulate tobacco ... Jump to full article >>

Cigar smokers seeking right to smoke in public

admin — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:06:38 +0000

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 >>

Firm loses battle over cigarette ad bins

admin — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 08:51:06 +0000

One of Europe’s biggest taxi firms today lost a legal battle over its unauthorised installation of cigarette “adbins” outside pubs and restaurants. For more than three years, Addison Lee has sponsored more than 19,000 “adbins” outside businesses across London where smokers could leave their discarded butts. Today, a judge ruled that the business – which has more than 2,500 minicabs – acted illegally by erecting some of the bins without planning permission. Westminster City Council brought the legal action over 21 advertisements at seven sites – s ... Jump to full article >>

Cigar smokers ask for a place to light up

admin — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:31:57 +0000

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 >>

Altria 1Q net rises, but Marlboro loses ground

admin — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:04:33 +0000

The Marlboro Man’s lower-priced competitors are gaining ground. Altria Group Inc.’s largest brand is still firmly planted in the saddle but saw its U.S. market share for the top-selling cigarette brand fall in the first quarter for the first time in nearly two years. Still, the Richmond, Va.-based owner of Philip Morris USA said Wednesday its first-quarter net income increased 15 percent in on lower costs and higher prices, even though it sold fewer cigarettes. It earned $937 million, or 45 cents per share, for the period ended March 31, up from $813 million, or 39 cents per share ... Jump to full article >>