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 369 (2/22/20)

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.

ProCigar Festival 2020

2020 marks the first year Cigar Coop is providing coverage from the ProCigar 2020 Festival. We focused on the part of the festival from Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.

News and Previews

Crux: The company announced two new sizes to its Crux Epicure Maduro line.
Emperor’s Cut: The brand announced three new sizes to its Natural Pleasure line.
Rocky Patel Premium Cigars: At TPE 2020, the company launched the Rocky Patel Cigar Smoking World Championship Cigar.

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 locations including private clubs, casinos, cigar bars, tobacco shops, and bars and restaurants with less than 20% of sales from food.