cigarettes

The Brands That Chinese Millionaires Love

Filed under: Wealth

If you are driving a Bentley, rest your left hand gently on the rearview mirror just out the window -- this is how other drivers will notice your stunning Patek Philippe watch. At least, this is how you should roll if you're a millionaire in China.

According to a survey by Hurun magazine, China's wealthy love watches by Cartier and Patek Philippe and like to slip behind the wheel of Bentleys. Vacations in the United States are also favored. But, for cigarettes and first-class flights, Chinese millionaires like to keep it local. Air China tops the list for luxury flights, and Chunghwa is the favorite tobacco, according to Hurun, with Chinese who have at least $1.46 million in wealth. Unlike cigarettes, though, the favorite cigar brand, Davidoff, is from abroad.

The average respondent to the Hurun survey takes 15 days off a year, on average, has three cars and owns five watches that cost at least $10,000 each.

According to Rupert Hoogewerf, chief researcher and founder of Hurun, the Chinese "have a greater awareness of brands." He continued to Bloomberg News, "They are also more international-minded and keener to give their children a foreign education." Four out of five are planning to send their kids to school abroad for high school and beyond, with the United States the preferred destination.

Being wealthy doesn't mean this community is finished coveting. Now that they are taking more time off, 50 percent want to buy a yacht, and 15 percent would love a private jet.

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Tags: bentley, brands, cartier, china, cigar, cigarettes, cigars, davidoff, patek philippe, PatekPhilippe, private jet, PrivateJet, tobacco, yacht, yachts

Cigar, Pipe Collectibles Gaining Momentum

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

Smoking bans may ultimately keep cigar connoisseurs from buying that next lighter or cigar cutter, but there is a group – that may or may not smoke – that is buying cigar-related items aggressively. Collectors are being drawn to antique smoking-related items, even if their use has become less popular over the past several decades.

Pipes, ashtrays, cigar boxes and cigarette dispensers are on the list for this subculture. Others are drawn to packaging and advertising, scooping up old cigar bans, boxes of matches, in-store ads and other forms of "tobacciana." Some are even quite expensive.

So, when your kids get on your case about the stack of empty cigar boxes in the living room, just tell them that's how they'll get through college ... if they're lucky.

[Photo by Steve Zak]

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Tags: ashtray, ashtrays, cigar, cigar accessories, CigarAccessories, cigarette, cigarettes, cigars, collectible, collectibles, collecting, collection, collections, humidor, humidors, lighter, lighters, pipe, pipes

Hey, Bargain-Hunters: Cigar Prices already Hiked

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

The SCHIP takes effect next week, and cigar smokers everywhere are dreading Wednesday. We've seen it coming, and I'm sure a few committed, deep-pocketed smokers have been stocking up to lock in discounts now. For the rest of us, though, there's no choice but to bite the bullet. And, in some places, that bullet is flying faster than in others.

Employees at the 16 Tocacco Depot stores, for example, have been rushing around to put new prices on various tobacco products, even though we still have nearly a week left. Fred Hoyland, who runs the show at that chain, says that some of the manufactures have raised their prices early – weeks in advance, even – in a play to beat the bargain hunters to the tax punch. Hoyland calls this "keep[ing] the market and inventory stable."

So, all your planning was probably for nothing. The house always wins ...

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Tags: cigar, cigarette, cigarette smoking, cigarettes, CigaretteSmoking, cigars, schip, smokers, tax, taxes, tobacco, tobacco industry, tobacco use, TobaccoIndustry, TobaccoUse

Cigar Taxes Biggest Trend Since Smoking Bans

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

Let the madness begin! Following grumblings across the country, more municipalities are starting to jump on the sin tax bandwagon ... and they're targeting us. Maryland, for example, is looking to use tax increases on tobacco (as well as alcohol and payroll) to fund health insurance via the state.

In a bout of much-welcomed civil disobedience, Davidus Cigars in Frederick and Urbana, Maryland, offers a message to his customers on its website: "CAUTION, you are about to enter the government shakedown zone."

The Maryland bill would kick the tax on cigars from 15 percent of the manufacturer's price to 90 percent. Of course, these are not the percentages that consumers would see (as a result of retailer markups), but the impact would be noticeable. Meanwhile, the cigarette tax would increase by 37.5 percent to $2.75. The State of Maryland expects these measures to generate $28 million in tax revenue.

Retailers, of course, are bleak. Davidus owner David Castro believes that the 90 percent tax rate would put him out of business. Proponents of the new expense for cigar smokers are dreaming more optimistic, claiming that cigar industry folks are "Chicken Little crying wolf."

Across the border in Pennsylvania, Governor Ed Rendell's 2009 budget would add another 36 cents per ounce to the tax on loose tobacco and the same amount for every 10 cigars. The tax on cigarettes would move from $1.35 to $1.45.

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Tags: cigar, cigarette, cigarette smoking, cigarettes, CigaretteSmoking, cigars, ed rendell, EdRendell, maryland, pennsylvania, taxes, tobacco, tobacco tax, tobacco use, TobaccoTax, TobaccoUse

Crown7 Electric Cigarette

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

Want to get your nicotine fix but don't want to annoy others with your smoke? You could chew the nicotine gum like some of my friends do but perhaps a more elegant option is the Crown7 electric cigarette. The cigarette includes lithium batteries and cartridges that contain water, propylene glycol, nicotine, and a tobacco flavor. Doesn't sound too appetizing compared to a fine cigar but it is a smokeless way to get your nic fix. The cigarette starter kit costs $99.95 and there are also pipe and cigar options available.

[via Gizmodo]

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Tags: cigarettes, cigars, crown7, electric cigarettes, smokeless

$100,000 Cigarette Pack

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Lucky Strike has been a popular cigarette brand since its founding in 1871, but to boost the popularity of the brand, BAT International has launched an advertising tour centered around a $100,000 pack of cigarettes that will be displayed at major international airports, where many duty-free cigarettes are purchased, for the remainder of the year. The pack is made of 18-ct white gold and features both a large ruby and a large diamond on the front. The rest of the package bears the traditional markings of retail packages, including a large health warning. The pack can be seen in Frankfurt in September, in Düsseldorf in November and Munich in December.