 |  | | Flavored Cigars = Tasty Profits
Issue: TR--May/June 2010
Summary:
This popular tobacco category remains a favorite of consumers but may become a victim of FDA legislation
Author: By Melissa Niksic
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|  | | Meeting Challenges: M & R Holdings
Issue: TR--May/June 2010
Summary:
Manufacturer’s Minute
Author: By Dean Rouse, President, M & R Holding
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|  | | Editor's Note: Selling Through Education
Issue: TR--May/June 2010
Summary: I recently heard about a marketing initiative that every tobacco retailer in the country should know about. It’s a weekly two-hour podcast broadcast over a web site (www.TheCigarAuthority.com) that serves as a rollicking forum for discussing premium cigars and other elements of the cigar smoking lifestyle.
Author: by Richard Brandes, Editor
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|  | | NATO News: Federal Tobacco Issue Update
Issue: TR--May/June 2010
Summary:
Author: Thomas A. Briant
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|  | | Flavored Tobacco: Courts vs. Legislatures
Issue: TR--March/April 2010
Summary:
NATO News
Author: By Thomas Briant
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|  | | IPCPR President Discusses Financial Crisis and the FDA
Issue: TR--March/April 2010
Summary:
Smoke Break Q&As
Author: by Melissa Niksic
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|  | | All Together Now
Issue: TR--March/April 2010
Summary:
I recently attended the 2010 National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) Annual Awards Dinner held in Las Vegas. What impressed me most about the more than 300 retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers in attendance was their overall sense of togetherness in pursuing a common purpose.
Author: by Richard Brandes
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|  | | Making Your Voice Heard
Issue: TR--March/April 2010
Summary:
Building and maintaining relationships with legislators
Author: By Dave Riser, Vice President External Relations–Trade Marketing, and Steve Kottak, Director External Relations, both of Reynolds American, Inc.
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|  | | Three Mighty Miami Cigars
Issue: TR--March/April 2010
Summary:
Spring is here and not a moment too soon.
Author: by Mike Smith
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| IPCPR responds to RYO/pipe tobacco news reports
Summary: In a recent release, IPCPR challenged recent news reports regarding the labeling switch of some roll-your-own tobacco brands to pipe tobacco by their manufacturers and claims that pipe tobaccos are designed to appeal to minors. “The anti-smoking forces once again are getting their underwear in a twist by reaching for straws in their attempts to besmirch our mom-and-pop members,” said Gary Pesh, president of the IPCPR.
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| Members named to NACS Executive Committee, Board of Directors
Summary: During the National Association of Convenience Stores’ (NACS) Board of Directors meeting held in Las Vegas at the NACS Show, several of the association’s retail members were elected to serve on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors.
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| Celebrating one-year anniversary
Summary: Silo Cigars, Farragut, Tenn., is celebrating its first anniversary on October 15. The shop is celebrating by hosting a free, multi-faceted event that includes a visit from the legendary premium cigar maker Don ‘Pepin’ Garcia. Garcia, a master tobacco blender born in Cuba, heads Miami-based El Rey de los Habanos, Inc., also known as Don Pepin Cigars.
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| NY City Council bans flavored cigars and smokeless
Summary: Going a step beyond the recent FDA law banning the sale of flavored cigarettes, the New York City Council enacted a new bill on Oct. 14 that will ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products. Under the new bill, the ban extends from cigarettes to include cigars, cigarillos and smokeless tobacco products.
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| R.J. Reynolds launched new Web site
Summary: R.J. Reynolds has launched a new Web site, EngageRJRT.com, for the company’s retail partners. This new site will provide retailers with around-the-clock access to tobacco category information and consumer and industry data that can be utilized to better serve consumers.
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| Canadian province sues tobacco companies
Summary: According to a report by The New York Times, The Province of Ontario filed a lawsuit on Sept. 29 against defendants, including Altria Group and some of its subsidiaries, R.J. Reynolds and JTI-Macdonald, for 50 billion in Canadian dollars for smoking-related health costs dating back to 1955.
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| Weather causes set-back for farmers
Summary: Some Kentucky farmers’ hopes for a bummer crop fell when parts of the state were hit with heavy rains whiles leaves in the tobacco crops were ripening, according to an article by The Associated Press’ Bruce Schreiner.
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| Star Scientific plans to file for Approval of first 'Modified Risk' tobacco product
Summary: Star Scientific, Inc., makers of low-nitrosamine smokeless tobacco products, announced that the company will utilize a novel, patented method for cultivation, curing and preparation of tobacco to formulate dissolvable smokeless tobacco products. This new curing process was the subject of a patent application filed in December 2008.
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| Prohibition of flavored cigarettes
Summary: The FDA has issued a letter to retailers on the prohibition of flavored cigarettes that goes into effect on Sept. 22, 2009 as part of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended in the recently enacted Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA).
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| Ban sticks in San Francisco
Summary: So far lawsuits from Philip Morris USA and Walgreens Co. have not swayed judges in California to change the San Francisco ban on cigarettes sales in pharmacies. Philip Morris was fighting to reverse the ban that it claims violates its advertising rights to communicate with its customers.
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|  | | From RYO to cigars, first for Republic
Summary: Republic Tobacco, a leading provider of roll-your-own (RYO) and make-your-own (MYO) cigarette tobacco, papers and accessories, is entering the cigar category with the introduction of Gambler Cigars. “Cigars are a natural extension of the Gambler brand,” describes Steve Sandman, vice president of sales and marketing for Republic Tobacco L.P.
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| Cigar industry leader has announced retirement
Summary: Altadis U.S.A. has announced that Theo Folz, the company’s president and CEO, will be retiring on September 30, 2009. He joined the company 25 years ago and has been in the industry for 46 years. Folz has led Altadis U.S.A. to a premier position in the cigar business with unprecedented sales and earnings levels and is highly respected and regarded through out the entire tobacco industry and is known as an icon.
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| Manufacturers, retailer, file suit challenging provisions of FDA Tobacco Act
Summary: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company announced in a press release that it has joined other tobacco manufacturers and a tobacco retailer in filing suit in federal court in Bowling Green, Ky., seeking to protect their First Amendment right to communicate with adult tobacco consumers about their products.
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| New retailer blog
Issue: TR--July/August 2009
Summary: The Retail Owners Institute® (The ROI) recently created a new blog for retailers from all industries. The new “Re-Inventing Retail” blog was developed at the request, suggestion and interest from retailers who regularly visit the site (www.retailowner.com).
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| Strength and change move company forward
Issue: TR--July/August 2009
Summary: There is no shortage of changes that have been going on at Heavenly Cigar Company. Heather L. Phillips, company founder and CEO, has been elbow deep in moving her company to the next stage of success. She has secured a new, plush and spacious headquarters that will still be located in Naples, Fla., where the company was originally launched in 1999.
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| New York wins against Indian tobacco vendors
Summary: According to an article by Sarah Wheaton that was published in the New York Times, a federal judge ruled on Aug. 25 that a group of tobacco vendors on an Indian reservation on Long Island cannot sell tax-free cigarettes to the general public until a court rules in a closely watched legal battle between the reservation and New York City.
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| New chairman for British American Tobacco
Summary: British American Tobacco p.l.c. recently appointed Richard Burrows as a Non-Executive Director at the company beginning Sept. 1, 2009. He will become Chairman beginning Nov. 1, 2009, when Jan du Plessis steps down in the light of his own appointment as Chairman of Rio Tinto plc from April 20, 2009.
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|  | | Tobacco plants yield new vaccine
Summary: A recent release by Adam Dylewski, of the American Chemical Society, said scientists have used a new vaccine production technology to develop a vaccine for norovirus, which is sometimes called the “cruise ship virus.”
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| Center for Tobacco Products led by Deyton
Summary: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched its new Center for Tobacco Products on Aug. 19, according to a release by the FDA. The Center will oversee the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act signed by President Obama in June 2009.
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| From RYO to DIY, new trend?
Summary: It was reported by the Associated Press that due to the continuing increases in tobacco taxes, some adult smoking consumers are turning to growing their own tobacco.
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| Annual event raises $29,000
Issue: TR--July/August 2009
Summary: After graduating from Killingly High School in Danielson, Conn., Michael Herklots headed off to college in 1998. While attending Berklee College of Music, he worked as a tobacconist in local cigar shops. After graduating from college, Herklots moved to New York and began working for Davidoff of Geneva.
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| Tax or fee?
Issue: TR--July/August 2009
Summary: In a recent release from International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCRP), the organization posed the question, “When is a cigarette tax not a tax?” Its answer was, “When the city of San Francisco calls it a ‘fee’ to pick up cigarette butts, instead.”
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| Confusion for IL retailers selling candy
Summary: New candy tax law for the state of Illinois is already causing confusion and headaches for retailers of all kinds who will have to implement the taxes set in place by Gov. Pat Quinn. The tax leaves retailers staring at their extensive sweets displays asking the question, "Is that candy or food?"
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| Proposed smoking ban in St. Louis County, Mo.
Summary: St. Louis County council member Barbara Fraser is sponsoring a bill that would enact a smoking ban across St. Louis County. There are two bills being considered; the first would exempt casinos and bars where alcohol is the main product sold and the second does not include any exemptions.
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| South Dakota bars, casinos can still light up
Summary: The smoking ban that was to go into effect on July 1 has been put on hold by Circuit Judge Mark Barnett. The ban that would eliminate smoking in bars, restaurants, casinos and video gaming facilities was stayed.
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| FTC Cracking Down on Bogus Marketing Claims
Summary:
Agency looks to regulate fraudulent, misleading claims
Author: By Holly Case, Natural Food Network Newsletter Editor
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| Minimum wage increases in 30 states
Summary: Thirty states have increased their minimum wage rate from $6.55 an hour to the new federal rate of $7.25 an hour as of July 24; the remaining states already have a higher minimum wage rate than the federal wage.
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| No smoking ban for military
Summary: Topping the recent news is the debate over banning tobacco use in the military. Despite the finding in a recently released Institute of Medicine (IOM) study, called “Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations,” commissioned by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Veterans Affairs Department (VA), the Pentagon released a statement that it does not have plans to eliminate smoking in war zones at this time.
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| North Dakota has plans for tobacco
Summary: Nearly $13 million has been allocated by North Dakota during the next two years to fund a nine-member advisory board that is expected to recommend and lobby for quadrupling the state’s cigarette tax to $2 per pack, according to a release from the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association.
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| Court rules ad violated MSA agreement
Summary: R.J. Reynolds ran a four-page ad in a November 2007 Rolling Stone issue that depicted various farm animals and equipment as well as electronics, like TVs and stereos. The manner in which these items were used, which has been called cartoonish, otherworldly and fantastical, led several states to sue the manufacturer.
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| Second acquisition this month
Summary: Philip Morris International Inc. announced that is has agreed to pay $452 million for its acquisition of Productora Tabacalera de Colombia.
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| Recognition for green power initiatives
Issue: TR--May/June 2009
Summary: Santa Fe, N.M.-based Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company (SFNTC) has been named and official “Green Power Partner” by The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The designation is part of the EPA’s climate protection program that works with businesses and organizations to reduce greenhouse gases.
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| The ride of the summer
Issue: TR--May/June 2009
Summary: CAO International announced in May that it is partnering with custom bike builder Sucker Punch Sally’s (SPS) to create a truly one-of-a-kind custom CAO-inspired bike. Inspiration from the CAO America cigar brand led CAO and SPS to create a bobber-style swinger bike that has been dubbed “Lady Liberty” and has been adorned with the mantra, “Free To Ride—Free To Smoke.”
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| New closing timeline
Issue: TR--May/June 2009
Summary: While originally announced in June 2007 that the Cabarrus, N.C., cigarette manufacturing facility would be closing, Philip Morris USA released a statement in late April 2009 that it would be moving up its original closing timeline from the end of 2010 to the end of July 2009.
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|  | | New VP of sales
Issue: TR--May/June 2009
Summary: Mayodan, N.C.-based General Tobacco recently announced that Jay Kusma has assumed the position of senior vice president of sales.
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| MS's 2nd tobacco tax this year passes state senate
Summary: The Mississippi state senate has voted for the passing of a second tobacco tax increase for 2009, according to several sources. After raising taxes across the entire cigarette category 50 cents in May, the senate has approved a second cigarette tax of 25 cents that would be added to cheaper cigarette brands.
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| FDA legislation signed by Obama
Summary: After a decade-long struggle to get the bill passed, legislators have finally succeeded in giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory control over the tobacco industry. President Obama signed the bill into law Monday.
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| U.S. House passes bill H.R. 1676
Issue: TR--May/June 2009
Summary: The U.S. House of Representatives passed bill H.R. 1676, The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT) of 2009, by a vote of 397-to-11 on May 21. It was originally introduced in 2008 and was reintroduced to the House in March 2009; it was sponsored by Rep. Anthony D. Weiner, D-N.Y., on both occasions.
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| British American acquires 85% of Bentoel
Summary: British American Tobacco has announced its acquisition of an 85-percent stake in Indonesia’s PT Bentoel Internasional Investama Tbk.
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| Jury rules in favor of R.J. Reynolds
Summary: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company announced that the U.S. District Court for Maryland – Northern Division’s jury’s verdict was in favor of the company in a patent infringement lawsuit
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| Lawmaker suggested smoking ban
Issue: TR--March/April 2009
Summary: In January while discussing possible resolutions to offset the estimated budget hole projected for the state of Kentucky, Senate President David L. Williams, R-Ky., suggested to Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear that they pass a statewide smoking ban.
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