Like clockwork each and every January brings the proposal of new taxes and within a lot of those proposals are taxes that could affect the cigar industry. Such is the case in New Mexico where Democrat Senator Howie Morales has proposed to raise the cigar tax a whopping 165% According to Senate Bill 77, the tax on cigars and OTP products would increase from 25% to 66% percent. The legislature is expected to vote on the […]
In West Virginia, Preston County has modified its existing smoking ban. While the old ban only prohibited smoking in restaurants, the county voted 4-1 to change that. Under the plan hotels, motels and bars are include. But the most shocking inclusion of the new ban is the governments intrusion into private clubs which now in some cases need to become smoke free. The measure was first reported by WBOY-12, a local television station.
Earlier this week we reported that the city of Chicago was looking to add a tax to cigars. Today, Mayor Rahm Emanuel took further aim at the tobacco industry at the first City Council meeting of the year. The Democrat Mayor made numerous proposals with the Public Health Commissioner Julie Morita. In addition to the additional taxes, a proposal to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21 was made along with with a minimum pricing policy. No timetable […]
The sale of tobacco in Illinois is illegal unless you have a license from the state. The new law requires all retailers selling any tobacco product to obtain a license from the state. The cost of which is $75.00. According to the state of Illinois, most of the fees collected will be used go after the sale of contraband tobacco. It also gives the state a way to punish those who sell to underage smokers.
The state Assembly of New Jersey passed a bill that would raise the tobacco purchase age from 19 to 21. The bill which passed by a vote of 49-20 is expected the cost the state 16.2 million dollars in taxes. In order to become a law it needs to be signed by Governor Chris Christie who is currently on the campaign trail running for President. Should the Governor sign the bill into law retailers who […]
We have seen states impose cigar taxes, counties impose cigar taxes and now Chicago wants to impose its own cigar tax under a plan from Mayor Rahm Emanuel. According to a published report from the Chicago Sun Times a $6 million dollar proposal for an orientation program for incoming high school students would be paid for by increasing the tobacco tax which would include a 90 cent tax on full-sized cigars. Since taking office in 2011, the […]
If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again seems the me the mantra in the state of Washington. Last year the state sought to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21 under bill H.B. 1458. That measure which carried the confiscation of tobacco products and community service failed in the senate. This year the bill is back as H.B. 2313. The bill which was proposed by Democrat Representative Tina Orwell has bi-partisan support in […]
The home of the first Two Guys Smoke Shop; Somerville, Massachusetts has joined the growing movement in the state to raise the tobacco age from 18 to 21. According to a report in the Boston Globe the new rules will become effective on March 15. The measure which was passed by the Board of Health also bans the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies. Other changes include a ban in hotels, motels and other forms of lodging; […]
It’s a good thing the Board of Health can’t change the smoking laws in Norway, because if they had their way smoking in the country would cease to exist. According to a published report the Norwegian Medical Association wants a smoke free country by 2035 and in order to make that happen they have proposed a ban on the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after the year 2000. According to the NMA, smoking […]
It was a busy year for The Cigar Authority and while we won’t name our cigar of the year until the Saturday before the super bowl we wanted to take the time to share some of our top podcasts and posts for the year. Without everyone checking the site and listening to the show this wouldn’t be possible so we wanted to say thank you. Have a Happy New Year! We had over 1 million […]