Mexican Cigar Distributor to Fight Counterfeit Cuban Trade

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
May 14th 2009 at 10:02AM

Mexico's Cuban cigar distributor, Importadora y Exportadora de Puros y Tabacos (IEPT), has taken new steps to prevent the spread of counterfeit Cuban cigars. The company has put together a new certification system that will validate cigar retailers across the country as legitimate sellers.

IEPT is licensed by Habanos S.A., which is the global distributor of Cuban cigars. Habanos has been struggling with counterfeiting for years, with problems in tourist-infested parts of Mexico being particularly severe.

The new campaign is designed to support retailers that sell the real deal, which hopefully will resonate with cigar consumers.

But, let's be realistic. The problem that has to be solved first is the love of "smoking the label." When customers stop wanting people to see that Cohiba label, they'll begin to make better choices.

Tags: cigar, cigars, cohiba, cuban, cuban cigar, cuban cigars, CubanCigar, CubanCigars, cubans, habanos