Dr.Puro

Altria: from tobacco to cigars

doctorpuro — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:29:44 +0000

Altria, the world’s largest tobacco company, has begun to enjoy cigars. Is it a sign of the future? The owner of Marlboro, L&M, Parliament and Virginia Slims brands announced that it would buy John Middleton, Inc., makers of Black & Mild cigars for $2.9 billion in cash.

Middleton’s operating revenues are expected to reach $360 million on sales of 1.2 billion cigars. Its net income is expected to be about $182 million for a profit margin of 50.6 percent. Black & Mild has 23 percent of the U.S. machine-made cigar market, estimated at 5.3 billion units annually. A lot more than the handmade cigars, wich is only about 300 million units a year. The brand is the second-largest-selling brand in the category (Swisher Sweets is the leader).

When Annie met Bill: no pictures with my cigar

doctorpuro — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 07:19:00 +0000

Washington.- When photographer Annie Leibovitz met President Clinton in the Oval Office in January 1993, he was smoking a cigar. She asked if she could photograph him with the cigar: “Not in your wildest dreams,” he said.

“The cigar became famous later,” said Leibovitz. The resulting photograph shows the young president standing beside his desk in his new office.

The picture with no cigar is part of of Annie Leibovitz’s “A Photographer’s Life: 1990-2005″ at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Bush Vetoes SCHIP, but…

doctorpuro — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 07:17:02 +0000

President Bush vetoed a bill seeking to add $35 billion to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) [complete article in Cigar Aficionado], but the SCHIP program is still running.

This bill, financed by taxes on tobacco products, including a big increase in the tax on cigars to $3 each, has been spurred by proponents of children’s health care and socialized medicine. Is the fourth veto by Bush during his seven years as President. He said he would be willing to work with Democrats to find a bill he could accept, making some increase in funding from present levels but will not accept ‘the desire by some in Washington, D.C., to federalize health care.’

Anyway, the war of the cigar killers starts state by state. First one is Oregon: voters getting an earful on tobacco tax initiative [Read the article in Cigar Cyclopedia].

Hamlet cigars, not to be

doctorpuro — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:59:52 +0000

The first victim of the british anti-tobacco law is a legendary low profile cigar. The factory that has been making Hamlet cigars for 100 years is to close. Hamlet cigars won iconic status with their adverts carrying the slogan “Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet”, The theme was: All your troubles will be forgotten with a Hamlet.

Japan Tobacco – which bought the company from Gallaher in April – said its Cardiff factory would shut in September 2009, with the loss of nearly 200 jobs. Its owners say cigar sales have been falling for some time, and the smoking ban has speeded up the decline. A spokesman blamed a 50% reduction in sales since 1999 for the closure.

Japan Tobacco is the world’s third-largest cigarette maker, is 50% owned by the Japanese government.

The focus on the money

doctorpuro — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 15:10:29 +0000

Puting the focus on the money is another way to see it. And to fight against the embargo. A report by the U.S. International Trade Commission showed that a lift on the Cuban trade embargo would allow American farmers to supply more than half of Cuba’s agricultural products and provide Americans with Cuban imports such as Cuban cigars. That could be a value between $175 million and $350 million per year.

The report was requested by the Senate Finance Committee to draw support for a new proposal that would ease restrictions on trade and travel to Cuba.

Since 2000, American farmers and other agricultural exporters have been allowed to sell goods to Cuba, but on a cash-only basis. Last june the U.S. International Trade Commission visited Cuba to gauge how Communist authorities might react if U.S. agriculture trade rules and travel restrictions were lifted.

What is sure is that the embargo has not obtained the objectives that it looked for. A good reason of lift it.