The Cigar Industry Report is a one-stop place to catch up on the activity here at Cigar Coop. It is a combination of the news reports, cigar reviews, and assessment updates we do throughout the week. In addition, each week we will look back at Cigar Coop history. Look for this report every Saturday morning at 8am Eastern Time.

Cigar Industry Report: Edition 368 (2/15/20)

Announcement: Prime Time Jukebox Dedications Show Requests Being Taken

Prime Time Jukebox is bringing the Dedications Show concept over from Cigar Jukebox. We are asking our audience to submit requests for loved ones who have passed away.

To submit a dedication, please submit an email with 1) The song; 2) Who the song is dedicated to; 3) Any thoughts on the person being remembered and/or why you are picking the song. Emails can be sent one of the following addresses:

The dedications should be sent to us by the end of the second week of March 2020. We will air the show later in the month.

As always, a tradition to the Dedications Show is to light up a Las Calaveras Cigar by Crowned Heads.

Feature of the Week: Trump Proposes Moving Tobacco Regulation Out of FDA

This week, in his proposed budget U.S. President Donald Trump has submitted a plan to move tobacco regulation out of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and create a separate agency under the Department of Health and Human Services. We’ve got the details here.

TPE 20

We published our the Full TPE 2020 Post-Game Report

News and Previews

AVO: The brand announced its 2020 releases including the AVO Improvisation LE20, AVO Cigars North-South Regional Editions, and the return of the AVO Classic Maduro.
Camacho: The brand announced its 2020 releasees including Camacho Nicaragua and the Camacho Liberty 2020.
Drew Estate: The 2020 Barn Smoker Dates have been announced.
Illusione: The company will release the Cigares Prive PCA Trade Show Exclusive in 2020
Habanos SA: For thee Cuban conglomoate’s XXII Festival del Habano, thee festered brands for the event will Bolivar, Montecristo, and Romeo y Julieta.
Smoker Friendly: The tobacco store chain announced it has acquired North Carolina-based Tobacco Outlet.
Viaje: The company is releasing the Viaje Phat Jalapeño

Legislative News

U.S. Senate: S.9 is a proposed piece of legislation that calls for an exemption from FDA Regulation for premium handmade cigars. This week no new co-sponsors were added. The total number of sponsors remains at 15.
U.S. House of Representatives: H.R.1854 is the House Companion Bill to S.9. This week no new co-sponsors were added. The total number of sponsors remains at 84.
Maryland: A bill has been introduced that would increase the wholesale tax on premium cigars and pipe tobacco from 15 percent to 30 percent. Meanwhile, a bill calling for a flavored tobacco ban was introduced in Maryland.
Pennsylvania: A bill has been proposed that would remove smoking ban exemption loopholes. Under the bill smoking would be banned in places including private clubs, casinos, cigar bars, tobacco shops, and bars and restaurants with less than 20% of sales from food.