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AVO LE-5 DEBUTS IN FLORIDA

Plus: Credit cards cannot be used to buy cigarettes over the Internet; no impact yet on cigars

Los Angeles, March 21 – Friday evening was a big night in Orlando, Florida with a special, sold-out dinner to signal the release of the new Avo LE-5, the fifth limited-edition cigar in the Avo line.

Of course, Avo Uvezian was on hand at Ruth’s Chris Steak House to introduce his newest blend and to share his considerable musical talents.

The overflow crowd received a passel of gifts, including a special champagne glass with the Avo logo, a signed Avo ashtray and a five-cigar assortment of each of the Avo blends . . . and the first chance to smoke the new LE-5.

It’s a 5 3/8-inch by 52-ring robusto, presented unbanded in slide-top cedar boxes of 20. A sun-grown Ecuadorian wrapper gives the blend of Dominican-grown binder and fillers a heftier taste than the Avo lines we are familiar with, but still considered medium in body.

A total of 4,000 boxes are slated for U.S. distribution and Corona Cigar Company, hosts of Friday’s debut dinner event are now offering Avo LE-5s for $215, down from the suggested retail of $240 (or $12 per stick). Corona Cigar is also providing an Avo Legacy CD with each order of one or more boxes.

It was the first stop on the “Avo LE5 Limited Edition Dinner Tour” this spring, with eight more event slated in the following three weeks:

• March 23 in Norfolk, Virginia
Hosted by Emerson’s Fine Tobacco (757/624-1520)

• March 28-29 in New York, New York
Hosted by Davidoff-Madison Avenue on 3/28 (212/751-9060) and Davidoff-Columbus Circle on 3/29 (212/823-6383)

• March 31 in Boston, Massachusetts
Hosted by Gloucester Street Cigar (617/424-1000)

• April 4 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
Hosted by International Tobacco (610/878-9190)

• April 5 in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Hosted by Smoky’s Fine Tobacco (248/334-3720)

• April 7 in Orange, California
Hosted by Maxamar Ultimate Cigar (714/633-3000)

• April 9 in Austin, Texas
Hosted by Heroes & Legacies (512/343-7496)

Credit card companies ban Internet cigarette sales
A ban on the use of credit cards for over-the-Internet purchases of cigarettes was implemented on Friday in a joint effort of the major credit card companies, the National Association of Attorneys General and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”).

There was considerable concern that this ban would be extended to cigars, as some early reports of the agreement mentioned sales of “tobacco products.” However, the ATF release was specific to mention only cigarettes.

Moreover, a circular sent by Norman Sharp of the Cigar Association of America noted that Sharp discussed the issue with senior ATF officials who confirmed that the “initiative applies only to cigarettes.” In fact, the original language of the ATF release was changed from mentioning “tobacco products” to “cigarettes” to avoid confusion.

The issue was focused on cigarettes because more than 95% of tobacco consumption in the U.S. is made in that form and the basis of the new restrictions is to prevent underage cigarette use. Federal law has, since 1949, allowed states to control sales of cigarettes and without it, a Federal agency like ATF would likely not be able to join in any cooperative agreement like the one announced.

Keith Meier of Cigars International feels the agreement might end up helping cigar sellers in the end. In a post on his CigarBid.com forum, he noted:

[T]here is much attention on the issue, and that’s because states claim to be losing tax revenue from online cigarette sales. After all, cigarettes account for 98% of the tobacco taxes, while cigars, pipes and other forms of tobacco are literally minuscule. And cigarettes have always been illegal to ship anyway, not so with cigars. If states are able to recover these lost cigarette taxes, it will likely reduce attention, which may lead to fewer legislative efforts to solve the problem. The fewer legislative efforts there are, the lower the probability that cigars could become collateral damage in a carelessly-worded Federal bill somewhere. So it might help move the issue off the table . . . another one will, of course, pop up in its place, but we fight another day.”

I sure hope he’s right.

Everything at Once with our March Combo Offer!
Here’s our special for the month of March, offering everything we have in one big package at 28% off! You get (drum roll . . .):

• A one-year subscription to our value-packed CigarWire and

• A copy of our 600-page Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars for 2005 and

• A copy of our third edition Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Havana Cigars!

That’s normally a $54.90 value with shipping, but we’re offering all of this for a special, discounted price of just $39.99 through the end of this month only.

Your subscription will also include our “Week in Review” newsletter sent each Thursday with a summary of our top stories of the week!
~ Rich Perelman

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