Cigars, Cigar Information and where to find Premium Cigars, Discounted Cigars and even Cheap Cigars - NICARAGUA TO U.S. CONGRESS: LEAVE CIGARS ALONE

NICARAGUA TO U.S. CONGRESS: LEAVE CIGARS ALONE

NICARAGUA TO U.S. CONGRESS: LEAVE CIGARS ALONE

Plus: Imperial Tobacco shareholders approve Altadis purchase

Bulletin:
Swedish Match has agreed to purchase Internet, mail-order and two-store retailer Cigars International. The Pennsylvania-based company, founded by Keith Meier, will remain independent of both Swedish Match North America and General Cigar Holdings. More tomorrow.

Los Angeles, August 15 – “The U.S. Congress and the Senate should recognize the damage this measure does to Nicaragua in its fight against poverty.”

So says Freddy Torres, a member of the Nicaraguan Assembly who also sits on the Assembly’s economic commission. The Assembly sent a declaration objecting to Congressional plans for a major tax hike on premium cigars, noting the damage it would do to Nicaragua.

According to Torres, “This measure will prejudice thousands of workers in the tobacco growing and cigar making industry.” He estimated that between 70,000 and 100,000 workers would be impacted, depending on the nature of the tax hike.

The financial impact to Nicaragua alone could reach $60 million U.S., with 69 percent of all Nicaraguan cigar exports destined for the U.S., by far the world’s largest cigar market.

Estimates from U.S. cigar industry sources of the number of people in the Caribbean cigar-making countries – including the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Nicaragua – who could be seriously impacted by a major Federal tax hike on cigars in the U.S. could be as high as 250,000. Major U.S. cigar manufacturers and distributors such as Altadis U.S.A., General Cigar, J. C. Newman and others are bringing elected officials from the affected countries directly to Washington, D.C. during the August recess to speak with Representatives and Senators to underscore the impact that a major tax hike on cigars would have.

Imperial Tobacco shareholders OK Altadis deal
Imperial Tobacco issued a statement noting that 99.8 percent of its shareholders have voted in favor of the acquisition of Altadis, S.A. for 12.6 billion Euro (about $17 billion U.S.).

The agreement of Altadis to Imperial’s bid of 50 Euro per share on July 18 has begun the lengthy process of governmental approvals of the deal before the sale can actually take place. The next step in the process is reported to be an approval from the Spanish stock exchange.

Lufthansa’s newest lounge includes a cigar room!
Lufthansa opened its new first-class lounge in Munich on Tuesday, a two-level affair covering more than 9,200 sq. ft. and incorporating a gourmet restaurant, bar area and cigar lounge in addition to the usual amenities such as work spaces, and extra-large restrooms which incorporate both shower and jacuzzi facilities.

The restaurant includes a daily sushi selection and the bar features 43 vintage Armagnacs! And the cigar lounge is no bare-bones affairs for smokers, as both bar service and light food service are provided. Now that’s first class!

Tobacco saving the environment!
A study published in the August 15 issues of the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science & Technology journal indicates that tobacco has been shown to be an effective agent for the detoxification of ground contaminated with TNT, a commonly-used military explosive that is also quite toxic. According to an ACS news release about the findings, researchers inserted a gene for a TNT-neutralizing bacterial enzyme into a tobacco plant. The genetically-engineered plant did an excellent job of decontaminating the soil, especially compared with natural tobacco plants. While soil bacteria can neutralize the effects of TNT, the use of plants is much more effective.

The study showed that fast-growing plants such as tobacco could have a significant role to play in the clean-up of contaminated grounds of all kinds in the future. Translation: look for lots more genetically-tuned tobacco to be planted in places it has never been planted before!

Coming soon: the Gannascoli!
Actor James Gannascoli is working with Rocky Patel to create his own cigar in addition to his work with Patel’s company as a spokesman. His character on “The Sopranos,” Vito Spatafore was beaten to death after his crew discovered that he was a homosexual.

The cigar line is reportedly to be named “A Cigar to Die For.”

Hammer time:
Famous Smoke Shop’s CigarAuctioneer.com site has been working its way through the popular Ashton Virgin Sun Grown series, most recently offering 24 individual Ashton VSG Belicoso No. 1s (5 1/4 x 52 torpedoes) with a suggested retail price of $9.25 each.

This time, the winning bidders didn’t have to pay much of a premium, with eight bidders winning cigars and the average price paid at just $9.48. The highest winning bid was $10.00 with $9.00 the lowest. One bidder snapped up eight of the cigars or a third of the box!

The total of $227.47 for the 24 cigars combined is only a little but more than the retail price of the box of $222.00, but a nice margin over the usual Famous price of $199.95 per box.

And the winner is:
Congratulations to Tony Jones of New York, York, winner of our “Register & Win” drawing for a free box of Cibao Robustos from our Perelman, Pioneer & Company humidors, courtesy of Mike’s Cigars.

Up for your pleasure this week is a special combination prize package: an Altadis U.S.A. Seleccion Belicosos with five 6 1/8-inch by 52-ring torpedoes from Trinidad, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Por Larranaga and the H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon series, a Mean Sardine cutter from Xikar and an elegant two-finger case from Andre Garcia! The Seleccion Belicosos is provided courtesy of our friends at Mike’s and all will be awarded in our drawing to be held on Sunday, August 19.

To enter, just click on the “Register & Win” tab above and fill out the required information. If you have entered in the past, there is no need to re-enter; all past entries are carried forward to future drawings. You must be 21 or older to win; good luck!
~ Rich Perelman

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