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Tobacco Plus Expo 2013

While the premium cigar industry tends to focus their attention on the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Convention and Trade Show, there are a few other trade shows that have been getting the attention of the industry as of late. One of those is the Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE), whose 2013 show was [...]

The Cigar Industry Reacts to Prop. 29′s Defeat

The cigar industry made no secret of their feelings of relief in the wake of the expected defeat of Proposition 29 in California, a proposal that would have raised taxes of premium cigars and pipe tobacco by 73%. In one of the first press releases issued following the announcement that 100% of precincts had reported, [...]

News: Kentucky Snuffs Out Statewide Smoking Ban

On Tuesday, the Kentucky House of Representatives decided not to bring House Bill 289 to a vote, which would have banned smoking in all public places and places of employment with a  handful of exceptions. “Despite the efforts of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and a handful of members of the Kentucky legislature, the voices of reason prevailed [...]

News: Cigar Rights of America Opens Washington, DC Office

Cigar Rights of America announced the opening of their new office in Washington, DC, citing that the time had come for the organization to have a permanent presence on Captiol Hill. “In Washington, if you’re out of sight, you are definitely out of mind,” said Glynn Loope, Executive Director of Cigar Rights of America. “You [...]

Weekly News (September 5, 2011)

Editor’s Note: I’ve made a concerted effort not to speculate on the outcome of Fernandez v. García et al (i.e. the El Rey de los Habanos lawsuit) for a few reasons, but it seems the rumormill has continued to grind and perhaps now has reached a moment that deserves critique. While speculation about a settlement, [...]

Weekly News (July 11, 2011)

Editor’s Note: And here we are. One week out from the IPCPR trade show and things are reaching their peak. Last week saw a host of new product announcements and this week is likely to be no different. Later this week a massive post outlining what to expect at IPCPR should be up, I’d estimate [...]

Weekly News (May 16, 2011)

Editor’s Note: A lot of tidbits of cigars that we haven’t mentioned this week, but the two major stories are the information regarding the El Rey de los Habanos lawsuit and Michael Herklots’ departure from Davidoff of Geneva. I’ll use this editorial space to comment on some of the interesting reactions to Maryland’s most recent [...]

Weekly News (January 31, 2011)

Can he do it? Will he do it…? Yepp, another week, another Viaje LE announcement. Nope, I’m not kidding. It marks the seventh sixth (I really thought there were seven) announcement of a new Viaje product this month joining the: Exclusivo Chiquito, Exclusivo Shorts, WLP, Late Harvest and Trifecta. The stick? You’re going to have [...]