January 15, 2024 Patrick Lagreid Weekly News

Weekly News (Jan. 15, 2024)

U.S. Supreme Court Will Not Hear Challenge to California’s Flavored Tobacco Ban

The U.S. Supreme Court opened up the week by announcing that it would not hear R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al. v Robert Bonta, et al., the case filed by R.J. Reynolds against the state of California. a challenge to California’s ban on the sale of almost all types of flavored tobacco and nicotine products. This means that the ban that went into effect on Dec. 21, 2022 will stay in place.

Flavored tobacco sales bans figure to be one of the top legislative stories of 2024, and I have to think that this will only empower more states and municipalities to either begin work on or ultimately pass their own bans, knowing that if they craft legislation similar to California’s, it has a pretty decent chance of being upheld. If I had to make a prediction, I’d expect to see a good number of stories about flavored tobacco sales bans in the coming year.

Ecuador Under State of Emergency Due to Drug Cartel and Prison Gang Violence

In a fairly quiet week for the cigar industry, this has been one of the biggest stories that could affect premium cigars and one that is certainly not good for a country that has had a challenging last year or so due to adverse weather affecting tobacco crops and sparking concerns not just about how much tobacco might be available from recent crops, but how much it might cost, as some cigar makers have told halfwheel that prices for some leaves have doubled in the last year so.

The situation came to a head after Adolfo Macías, a notorious gang leader involved with international drug cartels, disappeared from prison, setting off violence in the streets, as well as an armed takeover of a television station during a news broadcast. The story has developed several times over the week as hundreds of individuals identified as members of drug cartels and related gangs have been arrested, while earlier this week, the president declared a 60-day state of emergency, imposing a nationwide curfew and tasking the military with patrolling streets and overseeing prisons.

As for what this means for the premium cigar industry, it is uncertain at the moment. I have been told by a prominent grower that farm operations continue as normal but that the situation is chaotic and ultimately fluid. A manufacturer who uses a good amount of Ecuadorian tobacco expressed concern about the availability and cost of the tobacco in the near-term future, largely because of the developments this week but also the uncertainty of how the coming weeks will play out.

Depending on what happens in the coming weeks, this could be a significant story for the premium cigar industry, as numerous manufacturers and brands use Ecuadorian-grown tobacco in their blends, and if that tobacco suddenly becomes unavailable or spikes in price, they will be forced to adjust or possibly suspend production of certain blends. It is far too early to tell and certainly far too early to panic, but this will be a must-follow story.

Cigar News

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International

  • Latvia Increasing Smoking Age to 20 Next Year — via LSM.lv

State

Local

  • Hallowell, Maine Holds Public Hearing on Flavored Tobacco Ban, Votes to Move Forward to Third and Final Reading — via BangorDailyNews.com

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.

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