Tobacco Retailer articles from December 2003

Tobacco Retailer archives from December 2003

Memory lane.(Editor's Note)(Editorial)
December 1, 2003... With any luck, this column will turn into a merger of two of my favorite sayings: "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it" and "An editor without any ideas leaves blank pages." All right, I made the second one up. Anyway,...

Industry mourns death of Stokkebye.(Industry News)(Peter Stokkebye )(Obituary)
December 1, 2003... On Oct. 9th, Peter Stokkebye died suddenly from a blood clot, with his wife of 50 years, Bente, at his side. And Peter Stokkebye International suddenly found itself without the man who defined the personality of the tobacco company. No one...

RJR announces restructuring plan.(Industry News)(R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc.)
December 1, 2003... On Sept. 17, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc., Winston-Salem, N.C., announced a restructuring charge in conjunction with comprehensive changes in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's strategies and cost structure. "Reynolds Tobacco is...

Alabama tax increase defeated.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... On Sept. 9, Alabama voters overwhelmingly rejected Gov. Bob Riley's $1.2 billion tax package, which included a 14.5-cent increase per pack for cigarettes. Roughly two-thirds of voters rejected the plan, which means that the state will have to...

New design for Filtered Pall Mall.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Filtered Pall Mall is enhancing its advertising with a new design, font and brand identifier. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to Bruce Coley, brand director for Pall Mall at Louisville, Ky.-based Brown & Williamson Tobacco...

Study: teens buying Tobacco on Internet.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Online tobacco vendors provide easy access to cigarettes for underage buyers, according to a recent study by the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Kurt Ribisl, assistant professor at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health,...

Maine law restricts online Tobacco sales.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A new Maine law stipulates that any tobacco retailer, whether it is located in the state or not, must be licensed by the state in order to be allowed to deliver tobacco products to customers in Maine. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The law...

Statewide cigarette tax proposed in Virginia.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... State Sen. Emmett Hanger, co-chairman of the General Assembly's joint tax reform commission, has said that he will urge Virginia law-makers to consider a statewide cigarette tax of 30 cents per pack. The proposal came during the debate on...

Proposed EU smoking ban comes under ridicule.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... In September, European Union health commissioner David Byrne proposed a ban on public smoking throughout Europe. "Everyone, smokers and non-smokers, employees and the rest of us, should have access to clean air. We all agree with that. The...

Online cigarette vendors sued by Massachusetts.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... In September, Massachusetts attorney general Thomas Reilly sued three Internet cigarette vendors for not verifying that customers are of legal age to purchase cigarettes. According to the Associated Press, the online sellers being sued...

AWMA announces dates for 2004 training programs.(American Wholesale Marketers Association)(Systems to Enhance Professional Selling)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The American Wholesale Marketers Association has announced dates for its most popular training programs: STEPS (Systems to Enhance Professional Selling) and the L.A. Bantle Institute. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] STEPS is designed to train...

R.J. Reynolds lowers discount-brand prices.
December 1, 2003... R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Winston-Salem, N.C., is going to reduce the price of its discount cigarette brands at the end of 2003. According to The Associated Press, RJR is planning to replace its distributor discounts with lower...

Philip Morris acquires Greek manufacturer.
December 1, 2003... In October, Philip Morris International's affiliate, Philip Morris Holland, completed a private transaction with a group of principal shareholders for a 76.5 percent shareholding in the Greek company Papastratos Cigarette Manufacturing S.A. ...

American Kretek adds sales, service experience.(sales executives announced)
December 1, 2003... Fred Wood, vice president, marketing at American Kretek Company, Chatsworth, Calif., has announced the addition to its staff of two experienced specialty tobacco sales executives to assist in servicing the needs of tobacco retailers and...

Companies hold off on making payments.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... In October, the attorneys general from 14 states asked three cigarette makers to make scheduled payments required by the Master Settlement Agreement. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Winston-Salem, N.C., Lorillard Tobacco...

Study shows increased compliance by PA. retailers.(Industry News)(Responsible Tobacco Sale Certification Program)(Pennsylvania)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A two-year tobacco sales compliance study in Pennsylvania has shown that the non-compliance rate for retailers in Pennsylvania has been reduced. The findings of the study, administered by the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association and...

Vector seeking FDA guidance on smoking-cessation claim.(Industry News)(Vector Group Ltd.)(nicotine-free Quest cigarettes)
December 1, 2003... Miami-based Vector Group Ltd. has announced that in a preliminary study on its reduced nicotine and nicotine-free Quest cigarettes, 33 percent of Quest 3 smokers were able to achieve four-week continuous abstinence, a standard threshold for...

UST increases prices on smokeless products.(Industry News)(UST Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... On Nov. 10, UST Inc., parent of Greenwich, Conn.-based U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., the largest United States maker of smokeless tobacco, said it would raise prices on its smokeless tobacco products, its second price hike this year. ...

Remote sales of tobacco legislation clears hurdle.(Washington Report)(Internet Tobacco Sales Enforcement Act)
December 1, 2003... In October, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, by voice vote, unanimously passed the Internet Tobacco Sales Enforcement Act. The Act, if passed into law, would level the playing field with...

Five years gone: a half-decade after its implementation, the MSA remains a widely debated topic.(Master Settlement Agreement)(Cover Story)
December 1, 2003... All the states, commonwealths and territories have signed the settlement proposal that was announced on November 16, and as a result we have signed the settlement agreement. The settlement will become final when courts in the participating...

Strength in numbers? R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson pull trigger on merger.(Reynolds American Inc.)
December 1, 2003... On Oct. 27, the cigarette world got a little smaller when R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Winston-Salem, N.C., and rival Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Louisville, Ky., announced that they would unite their United States operations in a $2.6...

A new level: while still expanding, growth of deep-discount category shows signs of slowing.(Marketing)
December 1, 2003... Like a child who bursts into adolescence with its sudden and significant growth spurts, the deep-discount cigarette category made its presence felt over the past two years with its low-priced brands grabbing increasingly more market share,...

FDA legislation stalls.(NATO News)
December 1, 2003... The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions has reached an impasse on the bill regarding Food & Drug Administration control of tobacco sales that had been pending before Congress. In October, an amended version...

Camel's "Midnight Madness" rings in new year 2004.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... Through the end of December, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's Camel brand will market Midnight Madness, a limited edition Exotic Blend that combines Camel's Turkish and domestic tobacco blends with the flavor of New Year's spirits. Midnight...

Zig-Zag launches Cigarette line.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... North Atlantic Cigarette Company, Inc. has announced the introduction of Zig-Zag Premium Cigarettes. This premium, all-natural tobacco cigarette will be sold in king-size Full-Flavor and king-size Light box styles and is available in the Miami,...

Music City adds Cigarillo Sweets line.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... Music City Marketing has introduced a new size to its line of cigar seconds. In addition to the popular Churchill and Robusto Seconds, MCM is now distributing a new line of Cigarillo Sweet Seconds. The Cigarillo Sweets are available in a maduro...

Kretek International announces the arrival of Djarum Menthol.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... The latest clove cigarette line extension introduced by Kretek International is Djarum Menthol. The combination of clove and fresh mint is a unique flavor experience that customers will enjoy. Djarum Menthol is packaged in cartons of 10 packs...

Rizla Starter Kit targets make-your-own smoker.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... The new Rizla Cigarette Starter Kit from Robert Burton Associates, Ltd., provides all the necessary components for making your own cigarettes. Packaged in a bright red box, the kit contains an easy-to-use tube filling machine, 200-count...