According to a member of the Cigar Association of New Hampshire the bill that proposed the addition of a 65% tax on premium cigars has been defeated by more than a 3-1 margin with many politicians from both sides of the aisle voting against the increase.
Additionally, HB 175 passed last week which changes the definition of a cigar bar. The original bill stated, “Does not allow cigarette smoking or service of food on the premises“. The new bill which passed changed the language to read, “Does not allow cigarette smoking or food to be sold on the premises“. This is good news for one Granite State cigar shop that was fined last year for having a container of pretzels inside the establishment. Despite the pretzels being brought in by a customer they were fined for having food on premises.
It’s not all good news though as HB 176 which would have done away with the 60% tobacco sales needed to keep up a cigar bar, if the business made more than $75,000 annually was killed. This means all New Hampshire cigar bars must have tobacco sales of 60% of their total business in order to continue serving alcohol regardless of their annual sales.
