When it came to raising new sources of desperately needed revenue, stogies and chaw appeared to be the lowest-hanging fruit. Every other state imposes excise taxes on smokeless tobacco, and all but one other – Florida – do so on cigars. And the idea was widely popular in the Keystone State, public-opinion polls showed. So how did the ripe-for-the-picking products avoid being affected by the cornucopia of taxes that top lawmakers anno ... Jump to full article >>

Relatives of executed man seek ruling on trademarks Lawyers believe courts can unlock regime’s assets They are the quintessential ingredients of a sultry Havana night: cocktails blended from premium rum and hand-rolled cigars so fine that Fidel Castro would smoke no other brand. But now a court in Miami may hand two of Cuba’s most prized assets – the trademarks for Havana Club rum and Cohiba cigars – to the family of a man exe ... Jump to full article >>

California — The Food and Drug Administration will start enforcing a ban on flavored cigarettes next month. But a California based importer of clove-flavored cigarettes has found a way around the new law. Kretek International is the nation’s largest importer of clove cigarettes. To circumvent the ban on flavored cigarettes, the company plans to sell small clove-scented cigars. Cigars are not included in the new FDA ban. Debra Kelley is w ... Jump to full article >>

Suit seeks class-action status, alleges ventilation system inadequate A proposed class-action lawsuit was filed in Las Vegas Wednesday against Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. and Caesars Palace, alleging Caesars isn’t doing enough to protect casino workers from second-hand tobacco smoke. The lead plaintiff is Tomo Stephens, who says she was a blackjack dealer for about 20 years at Harrah’s-owned Caesars on the Las Vegas Strip and q ... Jump to full article >>

This week, our exploration of the city’s cultural district dining took us to Mass Ave, where the culinary cultural offerings just might outnumber the artsy fartsy stuff. Our destination: Bu Da Lounge (429 Massachusetts Ave., 602-3643), which bills itself as an Asian-inspired cigar bar but is generating buzz for its sushi selection. It’s an odd combination, to be sure. On my first visit, a spontaneous drop-in early one Saturday evening, the ... Jump to full article >>

[This is the first story in a three-part series analyzing the effect this spring's federal-excise-tax hike has had on tobacco retailing thus far. Watch for more in CSP Daily News this week.] “We have seen an increase in pack sales, and this is related to higher pack prices from our competitors.” “Customers have traded down to lesser price points.” “Middle price brands are losing share to lower price more so than hig ... Jump to full article >>

Medical Standard Calculator -For Health Professionals -General Public for private use The risk of developing a smoking related illness is linked to lifetime tobacco exposure. Cigarettes, cigars, pipes, rollups all contain different amounts of tobacco. People can smoke more than one type, a person’s smoking habit can change over time. So how do you measure a patient’s lifetime tobacco exposure and their risk of developing a smoking re ... Jump to full article >>

Harvard researchers say insurers put profits over health More than a decade after Harvard researchers first revealed that life and health insurance companies were major investors in tobacco stocks – prompting calls upon them to divest – the insurance industry has yet to kick the habit, they say. A new article on insurance company holdings, published in today’s New England Journal of Medicine, shows that U.S., Canadian and U.K.-based in ... Jump to full article >>

CEO says market may be too pessimistic on cigar margins Says plans to raise prices in Sweden in last week in June Expects some pressure on margins for snuff Credit markets improving, plans more buybacks this yr By Mia Shanley STOCKHOLM, June 5 (Reuters) – Swedish Match’s cigar business may be more profitable in the second quarter than analysts expect, its CEO said, after a strong first three months of the year when buyers hoarded s ... Jump to full article >>

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Major US, Canadian and British life and health insurance companies have billions of dollars invested in tobacco companies, a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine said. Wesley Boyd, the study’s lead author, found that at least 4.4 billion dollars in insurance company funds are invested in companies whose affiliates produce cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco. “Despite calls upon the ... Jump to full article >>