May 27, 2024 Patrick Lagreid Weekly News

Weekly News (May 27, 2024)

U.K.’s Generational Tobacco Ban Tabled Due to Election

A landmark piece of legislation that would have prevented anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, from purchasing tobacco products won’t be coming to a vote in the immediate future, despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ardent support. The House of Commons declined to take it up, leaving it for the next government to address, and that government could be made up of a majority of the Labour party, which has generally been in favor of the idea. This will be one to keep an eye on in the coming months as anti-tobacco legislation continues to be a reality.

Report: Premium Cigar Imports Remain High in Q1 2024

Following the spike in cigar imports during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been some thought that the levels would come back down at some point, but so far they remain in line with those increased numbers, and in the first quarter of the year, were up 1.5 percent from 2023. Compared to Q1 2020, imports this year were up 47 percent. I also found it interesting to see a near-staggering 17.9 percent increase from the Dominican Republic, while imports from both Nicaragua and Honduras decreased by 2.3 percent and 13.2 percent, respectively. It’s good to see the numbers strong and still growing, hopefully the rest of the year continues the trend.

PCA Announces Events During DNC, RNC

The Premium Cigar Association is taking its message to two of the largest political gatherings in the country, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and Republican National Convention (RNC). The PCA will hold events at a member cigar shop near the conventions, with hopes of bringing together politicians—elected and otherwise—and cigar retailers “to showcase the essence of specialty tobacco retailing,” said Joshua Habursky, interim executive director for PCA. Here’s to hoping there are plenty of people in attendance to hear the message.

Cigar News

Legislation

Federal

International

  • Cook Islands Set to Ban Tobacco Sales to Those Under 21-Years-Old — via NZHerald.co.nz
  • Labour Party Says it Would Reintroduce UK Smoking Ban — via Morningstar.co.uk
  • Northern Ireland On Course to Join UK in Generational Smoking Ban — via BBC News

Local

  • Cumberland, Md. Considers Smoking Ban for Downtown Area — via Times-News.com
  • Humboldt County, Calif. Amends Tobacco Ordinance to Allow for Some Coupons — via Times-Standard.com
  • Santa Rosa, Calif. Approves Ordinance Banning Flavored Tobacco Sales, Requiring Retailer Licenses — via PressDemocrat.com

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Cook Islands Cumberland (Md.) Humboldt County (Calif.) Northern Ireland Santa Rosa (Calif.)
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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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