 Plus: Labor unions decry possible smoking ban in Britiain
Los Angeles, September 5 – Oscar Basulto has to just shake his head.
The head of both the country’s cigar-producing entity, the Cuban Tobacco Enterprise Group (TABACUBA) and the international distribution firm Corporacion Habanos – half-owned by Altadis, S.A. – Basulto is responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of Cuban tobacco products.
Yet the country, under President Fidel Castro, has taken an anti-smoking stance, with Castro giving up cigars since the turn of the century.
Oh, well. Basulto was well received last week in a report he provided to Cuba’s National Assembly, where he noted that Cubans consume 12 billion cigarettes a year and that production will be increased to 15 billion, despite price increases.
A new brand to be called “Titanes” will be produced in Ranchuelo in Villa Clara province and another plant will be opened afterwards in the Holguin province to produce another new brand. Basulto was criticized over the poor quality of a domestic cigarette brand called “Populares,” apparently produced by machines as much as 80 years old. So much for the country’s program against smoking.
Country-wide, there are nearly 200,000 people are involved in the tobacco harvest annually, with 25,501 employed in the Pinar del Rio region, where most of the cigar tobacco is grown.
The report, from the Cuban national news service Prensa Latina stated that “Cuban premium cigars are considered the best in the world, and are sold in more than 300 countries.” At last count, the United Nations recognized 191 member countries.
More revealing information on Cuban cigar production came from the Altadis S.A. report on sales of Cuban cigars worldwide, up almost 18% over 2004 to about $153 million in total (Altadis’s share is half and it reported $76.5 million in gross sales in its financial statements). This would indicate that total worldwide sales of Havanas should top $300 million for the year, a strong showing. Altadis’s outlook confirmed the continuing strategy to emphasize sales at the high end with the Edicion Limitada, Seleccion Reserva and other expensive lines while expanding volume in the small cigar sector which is proving quite popular, especially in Europe.
Britain’s Labor government faces unions over tobacco legislation:
Tony Blair’s Labor majority faces an interesting squabble within Britain as the anti-smoking forces call for a total ban on all indoor smoking in the United Kingdom.
Now, the Tobacco Workers Alliance, a coalition of labor unions working in and around the tobacco industry and representing 6,800 workers, prefers the government’s current proposal which would eliminate smoking from workplaces and public places except for pubs which do not serve food (i.e., bars only) and membership clubs.
The issue is about jobs, not about health. TWA chair Brenda Warrington noted that “A recent Centre of Economics and Business and Research survey revealed that even under the current proposals, 32,000 jobs will be lost across the hospitality industry and profits will drop by 320 million British pounds.
“We acknowledge the importance of protecting the welfare of our colleagues in the hospitality industry and support proposals for reasonable and sensible restrictions on smoking in workplaces and public places. We are united with the hospitality industry when we reject calls for a total smoking ban.
“According to a recent hospitality industry survey conducted by HPI Cardinal, 89% of licensees and bar staff want smoking to continue to be allowed in pubs and bars. A shift towards a total ban would be a step too far.”
This will be an interesting situation to watch, since the union’s view is that people should have a choice to enter a smoking-allowed bar, pub or private club if they choose to do so. Those who do not want to be exposed to secondhand smoke need not go in and if they do not, they won’t be exposed. It’s called freedom of choice, a worthwhile concept.
C.A.O. still celebrating:
The tireless promoters at C.A.O. continue their endless run on the red carpets of the world as the official cigar of yet another awards show. This time it’s the 10th Annual South Train “Lady of Soul” Awards to be held on Wednesday, September 7, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California.
With California’s strict anti-smoking laws, C.A.O. will provide cigars for the Celebrity Gift Lounge, specifically a Flours by C.A.O. sampler, a new package which highlights their Bella Vanilla, Eileen’s Dream, EarthNectar, Gold Honey, Karmasutra Splash and Moontrance flavored blends.
Altadis to the rescue:
Altadis U.S.A.’s World of Montecristo Relief Organization, founded in 1998 to raise funds to assist hurricane victims in the Caribbean, has donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The funds come from the annual Montecristo Cup Pro-Am golf tournament. Part of the funds for this donation will come from the World of Montecristo Relief Organization cigar sampler on sale at retailers since the start of July.
Thank you!
As regular readers may have noticed, we had some trouble with the site last Thursday, September 1, as we switched server hosts. The switchover is now complete, clearing the way for us to make changes that will make the site even better.
~ Rich Perelman
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