More On Counterfiet Cigars

According to federal government statistics, Americans smoked about 5.1 billion large cigars in 2005 and spent about $3.2 billion on all cigars. Of those, about 321 million were classified as premium — that is, they were handmade, usually comprised of long tobacco filler instead of chopped tobacco, and retailed for at least $1 apiece. Such cigars can run upward of $30 each.

Altadis USA, a subsidiary of Spanish tobacco giant Altadis SA, holds the trademark rights to many of the best-known Cuban cigar brands including Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and H. Upmann. New York-based General Cigar Co. holds the rights to Cohiba, Partagas, Macanudo and other premium brands.

Because cigars from communist Cuba cannot be sold legally in the United States, Altadis makes its Cuban heritage cigars marketed in this country in the Dominican Republic. The Spanish parent, however, can market the real Cuban cigars around the world under the same brands.

That means anyone who uses those brands to market a cigar as made in "Habana" or as a "Cuban replica" is either violating the U.S. embargo against Cuba or the trademark rights of Altadis, General Cigar and other companies. Altadis USA, which has 7,800 employees and had 2005 revenue of about $700 million, has been leading the charge against counterfeiters using its own private investigators to assist police.

...is this a real Montecristo?

Newsvine - Counterfeit Cigars Anger Manufacturers

technorati tags:cigar, aficonados, counterfeit, cigars, montecristo, Cohbias

Counterfeit Cigars

Miami - Cigar aficionados beware: those handmade Montecristos, Cohibas and Romeo y Julietas may not be the premium smokes they seem.

Law enforcement and cigar industry officials say counterfeiters are marketing millions of dollars in fake upscale cigars, some even pretending to be authentic Cubans that are illegal to sell in the United States. A recent crackdown has uncovered several major counterfeit operations, including one in Miami that resulted in the seizure of more than $20 million in fake stogies, labels and packaging."

The person that's hurt the most is the consumer," said Theo Folz, president and chief executive officer of Fort Lauderdale-based Altadis USA, the world's largest maker and distributor of cigars. "We have developed products and built up on image and built up an expectation among the consumers. Guys put their money down. They want the real thing."

...send in the Lawyers...

Newsvine - Counterfeit Cigars Anger Manufacturers

technorati tags:Counterfeit, cigars

Hotel giving away cigars?

After the war things worsened. One hotel manager gave away free booze and Cuban cigars to guests until the business went belly-up. ...

...which hotel was that again?

"Lanarkshire UK"

technorati tags:cigars, cuban

Chinese Hunger for Luxury Products like Cigars

China's future private jet owners, however, probably did not show up this time. Although the event's organizer, London-based Shorex Ltd, insisted that entry to the event was by invitation only and among the guests were top management and decision makers of Shanghai's leading companies, successful entrepreneurs, celebrities and high net worth individuals, most visitors were seen trying free massages and manicures, smoking free cigars, sipping whisky and beverages, grabbing free magazines or eating McDonald's that they brought to the site."

It's difficult to judge whether a person is rich or not by his looks," said Sheng Lei, founder of Top Marques Shanghai, an annual luxury exhibition which originated from Monaco. Sheng said what interests most of his customers in China "are the premium cars and yachts which are not available in China yet."

But actually, China is becoming the world's third largest consumer of high-end fashions, accessories and other luxury goods.The Chinese luxury market currently generates more than US$2 billion in sales a year. It is expected to grow 20 percent annually until 2008 and then 10 percent annually until 2015, when sales are expected to exceed US$11.5 billion, according to Ernst & Young.

By 2010, China is expected to have 250 million consumers who can afford luxury products, nearly 17 times the present number. By 2015, Chinese consumers could be as influential as the Japanese and account for 29 percent of all global luxury purchases.

The fact that a population of 1.3 billion potential consumers with an average annual per capita income of 10,493 yuan (US$1,312) in the country's urban areas is able to create such a ripple in the world's luxury goods market reflects the hunger that Chinese consumers have for luxury goods.

...mmm intersting

Chinese hunger for luxury products

technorati tags:cigar, luxury, products, China, consumers

A model train carrying cigars...

Godard and Almodóvar in Paris

Dave Calhoun reports on two intriguing new exhibitions in Paris.

Last summer I interviewed Jean-Luc Godard at his home in Rolle, Switzerland, where he indulged in a characteristic grumble about the guardians of today's film culture, and especially metropolitan curators (or, as he so sweetly put it, 'people like you').

The second room, 'Hier', is a more satisfying expression of Godard's career and influences: small screens show extracts from his own films, while larger screens show clips from Lang, Rossellini, Cocteau and Nicholas Ray. The mood is more fruiful. A mini-jungle of luscious green pot-plants sits in the middle of the room. A model train runs back and forth through a tunnel into the first room, carrying cigars and tennis balls (two of Godard's passions). But it's never more than tantalising, scrappy and mildly provocative.

...that's a rewarding room...

Godard and Almodóvar in Paris - The TOMB movie news - Time Out Film

technorati tags:cigar, Godard

Bob Hoskins Chomps on Cigars

Ben Afflect is Superman!.  Not the new Superman, you silly little squirrel, but the fifties version of him - actor George Reeves. New film Hollywoodland tells the tale of the actor’s mysterious death - was it suicide or murder? - and looks really rather good.

Affleck appears to be acting (something I thought he’s given up after Armageddon), Adrian Brody plays the wonky-nosed detective on the case and Bob Hoskins chomps on cigars.

Check out the trailer here. trailer

...Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane?...Is it a cigar?...

Binky The Doormat » Ben Affleck is Superman!

technorati tags:cigars, Bob, Hoskins, Superman

Snuff Out "Little Cigars"

By Mark K. Matthews -

Attorneys general from 39 states and Guam are lobbying to change federal regulations that allow tobacco manufacturers to classify cigarettes as "little cigars," which they say allows these companies to skirt health restrictions and taxes.

In two petitions sent to federal regulators in April and May, the attorneys general called on the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to modify its rules to prevent tobacco companies from labeling cigarettes as little cigars.

Little cigars avoid advertising and health restrictions imposed by a 1998 deal between tobacco companies and 46 state attorneys general. Called the Master Settlement Agreement, this deal prohibits techniques such as using cartoon characters in tobacco advertising.

Taxes on cigars are significantly lower, which allows tobacco companies to sell little cigars at about half the price of cigarettes, according to the attorneys' general petition. Little cigar manufacturers also don't have to report their ingredients to the Centers for Disease Control and they can avoid putting health-warning labels on cigar packages.

...smokin

Kansas City infoZine News - Attorneys Generals Hope to Snuff "Little Cigars" - USA

technorati tags:litte, cigars, Tabacco, tax, law, tobacco, advertising

There's a boom in small cigars...

“There’s been a boom in the small cigar market,” he said. “We used to have two or three high quality small cigars, whereas now we have about 50.”Jamie Bontrager of Tahlequah smokes small cigars, but he has nothing but disdain for what he calls “candy-flavored fake cigars,” which he feels are marketed to kids, and not serious cigar smokers.

...it's the latest trend the kids are jumping on...

The Cushing Daily Citizen, Cushing, Oklahoma - Cigars, cigarettes: Does sweet make the smoke?

technorati tags:small, cigars

Do you really know the difference between a cigar and a cigarette?

By Eddie Glenn TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS (TAHLEQUAH, Okla.)TAHLEQUAH, Okla. —

Everyone knows the difference between a cigar and a cigarette.

Cigars are smoked by used car salesmen; cigarettes are smoked by high school kids.

But now, some states are beginning to wonder if those standards (which, admittedly, might be slightly oversimplified generalizations) apply anymore.

Attorneys general from 39 states and Guam have asked the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to issue new rules to clarify how small cigars – which they claim look remarkably similar to cigarettes – are classified.

Cigarettes are taxed at higher rates and fall under stricter marketing rules than cigars. For example, the youth marketing restrictions imposed on cigarette manufactures as part of their 1998 landmark settlement with the states does not apply to cigar makers.

The attorneys say it is important to act now because sales of small cigars are increasing. They say low prices, and in some cases, sweet flavorings added to little cigars make them attractive to young smokers.

...I'll wait and see the outcome while I have my cigar

The Cushing Daily Citizen, Cushing, Oklahoma - Cigars, cigarettes: Does sweet make the smoke?

technorati tags:cigaretter, small, cigars, tax

Camacho Cigar Opens at Comerica Park

Christian Eiroa, the president of Camacho Cigars, admits he was never a big baseball fan. That was until the Camacho Cigar Bar opened at Comerica Park in Detroit. Now, Eiroa is a Tigers fan to the hilt.

Given the turnout of enthusiastic Motor City cigar smokers at the grand opening of the bar and lounge on June 23, Tigers fans are becoming Camacho fans, too.

...baseball and cigars work for me

Cigar Aficionado | Web Features | Camacho Cigar Bar Opens at Comerica Park

technorati tags:Christian, Eiroa, President, Camacho, Cigars, Baseball, Comerica, Park, Detriot, Tiger, fans

Where Hippies Puff on Cuban Cigars

YOU could hear the plane before you could see it, a low throb growing louder as it emerged from the morning mist above the Hertfordshire countryside.

At 9.45am on Wednesday Michael Romanek, director of alternative investments at Fortis, the Dutch bank, and five others leapt out head first.

At 3000ft one parachutist pulled a cord, and a 240ft flag unfurled from his leg. Suddenly the name and logo of Fortis was emblazoned across the sky.

For those waiting below in the grounds of Knebworth House this was the signal: Hedgestock, the "alternative conference for the alternative investment industry" -- one of the most ambitious, extravagant and bizarre business meetings ever organised -- had started.

A short distance from the drop zone a queue of cars -- dominated by Jaguars, convertible BMWs and Porsches -- snaked up the drive to the historic home. Emerging from them was an assortment of long-haired hippies, loudly decorated with beads, psychedelic T-shirts and John Lennon-style sunglasses.

Flower-power flags, heralding the start of "Two Days of Peace and Love," drew delegates up the track to the tented village of Hedgestock.Dominating the site, at more than 30m tall, was a music stage from Bono's Live 8 extravaganza in Hyde Park last summer. It would be used in the evening for a private performance by The Who ahead of the release of their first album for 23 years.

Music blared from every direction.Hedgestock's organiser, Albourne Partners, had promised to recreate Woodstock, the famous rock festival of the 1969 "summer of love". But, predictably, they and their delegates had gone one better.

The hippies puffed on Cuban cigars instead of joints, quaffed champagne rather than warm beer, and in the place of the traditional mud there was a specially designed playground -- complete with a polo field, cricket pitch, laser clay pigeon shooting range, hot-air balloon station and remote-controlled duck racing.

Rarely have the excesses of the high-rolling but secretive hedge fund industry been displayed so publicly. Nearly 4000 delegates -- from hedge fund managers to investors and service providers -- had paid the pound stg. 500 ($1228) entry fee plus thousands of pounds more to exhibit at Hedgestock.

One in five had come from overseas, with visitors from America, India, Australia, Bermuda and all over Europe.Banks competed to dazzle their most important clients. Royal Bank of Scotland hired out Brocket Hall, the neighbouring stately home, for its "after-party" and for clients to stay the night.

...hippies have refined tastes...

Where the hippies puff on Cuban cigars | Business | The Australian

technorati tags:cuban, cigars, Hedgestock, organizers, Albourne, Partners

A Cigar Room is a Must

"I had sat around campfires all my life, since I was 10 years old," Ed says. Jackie grew up in the country, where creeks supplied the soundtrack. "I wanted the sound of water," she says.Sheppard combined those elements in a postmodern fire pit. Slats of teak provide bench seating that radiates off a copper cauldron sitting in a steel base. "This is a place to hold conversations," Ed says. "We had eight or 10 people in here for New Year's, drinking port and smoking cigars."

...home entertainment theatre rooms, next are cigar rooms...why now?

Modest facade conceals personal touches extraordinaire

technorati tags:cigar, room

Cigar Tax Capped in Rhode Island

Thursday, July 06, 2006By Michael Moretti
Cigar smokers are getting a break in Rhode Island thanks to a reduced tax in this year's state budget.On July 1, the state tax on cigars dropped from 40 percent of the wholesale price to 50 cents per cigar as a new budget went into effect. The change can be considerable: a box of 20 cigars with a wholesale price of $100 would have had a tobacco tax of $40 under the old law; now the tax would be only $10.

...i thought prices would never come down :o)

Cigar Aficionado | Web Features | Cigar Tax Capped in Rhode Island

technorati tags:cigar, tax, capped, rhode, island, cigar, smokers, tobbacco, tax

Cuban Cigars in US Courts

Havana, Jun 23 (Prensa Latina) Cuba will continue defending the brand of Cohiba cigars in the US registrations, Cubatabaco Legal Representative for Intelectual Property matters Adargelio Garrido said on Friday.

"Cohiba is the most famous brand of this country, but due to the economic, commercial and financial blockade against the island, it cannot be sold in that nation" the expert told Prensa Latina.

...sometimes it's just a cigar called "Hamlet", err I mean "Cohiba".

Cuban Cigars in US Courts - Prensa Latina

technorati tags:cuban, cigars, cubatabaco, Cohbia

States target ‘little cigars

'Kris WiseDaily Mail Capitol reporterTuesday June 27, 2006

West Virginia is trying to crack down on the sales of products commonly known as "little cigars."Regulators say they have the same properties as cigarettes but are marketed as cigars to get around federal regulations and state taxes.Brown paper is one of the few attributes that separate the products -- including such brands as Black and Mild, Winchester and Swisher Sweets -- from regular cigarettes.They started out years ago as a thinner, shorter version of a tobacco cigar, but today many manufacturers have changed the recipe.

...What's up with that? Is it a Claytons....?

Charleston Daily Mail

Dominican-made cigars will sell with Cuban brand name in U.S.

Washington.- With its refusal to block selling cigars in U.S. under the Cuban brand name ‘Cohiba’ the U.S. Supreme Court opens the way for the firm Swedish Match AB to continue using a name it has been putting on its Dominican-made cigars in the U.S. for more than two decades. Stockholm-based Swedish Match had purchased General Cigar in 2000.

...now that's smoking news...

Dominican Today

technorati tags:dominican, made, cigars, cuban, brand, name, U.S.