Imported Ashford Bentley’s factory-fresh, hand-wrapped cigars have a natural shade wrapper with a mild, smooth taste, and consistent smoke with a perfect draw every time. The cigars are always imported fresh from the factory. Ashford Bentleys are packaged in a 20-cigar bundle and feature printed quotes from the most famous cigar smokers in world history.…
Red Buck and Richwood Tipped Cigarillos
Tantus Tobacco, a company dedicated to bringing high-quality, value-priced filtered cigars, cigarettes and pipe tobacco to the market, has added tipped cigarillos to its product line. Red Buck Tipped Cigarillos are available in Pipe Tobacco, Wine Pipe Tobacco, Sweet and Wine. Richwood Grooves Tipped Cigarillos are available in Pipe Tobacco and Wine Pipe Tobacco. For…
Understanding Today’s Tobacco Customers
MSA and Paradigm Sample, in partnership with Convenience Store Decisions, examine the purchasing habits of adult tobacco consumers at U.S. convenience stores. By Trish Temmerman, Management Science Associates, and John Lofstock, Editor. The tobacco industry continues to face challenges on multiple fronts, namely ongoing legislative initiatives and the ever-present high rate of taxation. These persistent…
Eco-Cigs Prepares for Retail Expansion
Industry veteran Roger Grogman joins the Illinois firm to help guide its expansion strategy into new sales channels. Eco-Cigs, Inc., a leading electronic cigarette company, has hired Roger Grogman as their Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Grogman will be responsible for the expansion and growth of the Eco-Cigs brands within opportunistic retail channels. “The…
FDA Announces Intent to Regulate OTP
FDA expects to issue a deeming regulation in summer 2012 to cover other tobacco products. Cigars, e-cigs and cigarillos are among tobacco products about to meet with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scrutiny. The agency has announced its intent to issue a “deeming regulation” sometime during the summer of 2012 to cover other tobacco…
Dispelling the Myths of Tobacco Control
A response to the recent misleading “Deadly Alliance” report implicating convenience stores. By Seth A. Mailhot, Special Counsel, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. This is the first of what will be a continuing series on the regulation of tobacco retailing. In future articles, I will address the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) regulation…
GAO Suggests Equalizing Tobacco Tax Rates
A new report finds shift in using pipe versus roll-your-own tobacco and large cigars versus small cigars to avoid hefty taxes. This week, the federal Government Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report titled “Large Disparities in Rates for Smoking Products Trigger Significant Market Shifts to Avoid Higher Taxes.” The document shows the impact of the…
E-Cigarettes Are Here to Stay
Until recently, e-cigs have been sold through traditional tobacco stores that normally expect a keystone or 100% markup on items other than cigarettes. Though it is hard to determine the number of e-cig users in the U.S., the National Vapers Club estimated that about a million people used e-cigs last year, so it certainly is…
Navigating OTP’s Legal Battleground
The prospects for OTP throughout 2012 are good, as growth remains strong. But a swelling number of revenue-strapped state legislatures continue to hungrily eye the category. “I think the category will continue to expand,” predicted Matt Hieb, category manager for Gate Petroleum, which operates 225 convenience stores in six Southeastern states.“The growth of the brands…
FDA Appeals Federal Court Tobacco Ruling
Administration continues to push for graphic warning labels on cigarette packages. Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration appealed the February 29, 2012 decision issued by Federal District Court Judge Richard Leon which held that the FDA’s new graphic images and text warnings for cigarette packaging and cigarette advertisements violate free speech protections under the First…