Some smokers may have grown tired of lighting 20 cigarettes with the same taste from a pack. For such consumers, KT&G has come up with a product that includes two groups of cigarettes with different flavors. KT&G, the country’s largest tobacco manufacturer, said Monday that the company will release the unique item, dubbed the Raison Pop 17+3, starting this Wednesday across the country at the price of 2,500 won a pack.

The product will include a total of 17 ordinary cigarettes and three convertible ones equipped with versatile filters, which offer multiple flavors.

When people click the filters of the three cigarettes, which have green filters, they will convert into menthol-flavored ones. If customers do not like the menthol flavor, they can smoke the three just like a regular cigarette.

KT&G expects that the branded packs will further boost the popularity of the Raison brand.

Raison, which debuted in 2002, is one of the top brands of KT&G. In particular, young smokers loved the brand, which was chosen as the top pick among university students three straight years through 2009.

The two-in-one cigarettes contain 6 milligrams of tar.

The MPAA has embarrassed itself an untold number of times over the years for its prudish attitude toward sex and its wildly permissive attitude toward violence. But what’s it’s done to Nancy Meyers’ upcoming comedy, “It’s Complicated,” is perhaps the ratings board’s biggest boneheaded move yet.

Its_complicated_ver2 According to a story by my colleague, Steven Zeitchik, the MPAA has given Meyers’ fluffy comedy about a middle-aged love triangle an R rating because Meryl Streep and Steve Martin’s (who star in the film along with Alec Baldwin) characters are seen sharing a joint while on a date.

The problem, according to people involved with the board’s hearing on the issue, isn’t that the actors are seen smoking pot — it’s that the scene “features pot-smoking with no bad consequences.” Apparently, everything would’ve been fine if only the characters had been killed in a gory car crash because their reflexes were slightly impaired after sharing the joint, which surely would’ve served as a stern warning to kids not to ever touch the evil weed.

In other words, you can score a tidy amount of pot at hundreds of marijuana clinics across Los Angeles, but it you take a puff on a joint in a Hollywood movie, you immediately get walloped with an R rating, whether you’re a gangsta’ rapper like Snoop Dogg or a genial white-haired Oscar host like Steve Martin.

It’s another outrageous example of the lunatic priorities of the MPAA, which claims to serve the interests of parents but actually dances to its crazy drummer, happily handing out PG-13 ratings to unbelievably violent movies like “Terminator: Salvation” while whipping out the R rating at the first sign of a few naked breasts or, God forbid, an unsheathed penis.

The R rating for “It’s Complicated,” which hits theaters Christmas Day, is especially ludicrous. It would be one thing if we saw Kristin Stewart smoking weed in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” since the movie is right in the sweet spot for teens and tweeners. But if the MPAA is really sticking up for families everywhere, it hardly seems to be a parental concern that impressionable kids are going to be flocking to see a romantic comedy featuring actors who are — in the case of Streep and Martin — even older than some of their grandparents.

I’ve been ranting and raving about the MPAA’s nutty priorities for years without any discernible effect. I think it’s time that filmmakers and actors start sticking up for their peers, in this case Meyers, who is getting the shaft from the MPAA for a totally harmless comedy scene. Since George Clooney (and I mean this with no offense) seems to weigh in on every pressing foreign policy of the day, maybe he could spare a little interview time to take the MPAA to the woodshed, which might serve to embolden some of his more cautious brethren to speak out against an organization whose moral compass has clearly gone haywire.

Here’s the trailer for “It’s Complicated,” where you can actually see, toward the end, the giddy after-effects of Streep’s and Martin’s characters’ marijuana indulgence:

As the city readies to weigh public input on new citywide smoking rules at a hearing Tuesday, residents and visitors to Columbus, randomly surveyed Friday, all supported the council passing a city-wide smoking ban.

“I think it’s good (to ban smoking in public places),” Corey Thompson, of Columbus, said while shopping at Leigh Mall. “The people who don’t smoke don’t want to be around it and the smokers can go outside, I guess.”

“I don’t smoke,” said Jamelia Joiner, of Macon, who was dining in Columbus. “I think it’s a good idea.”

“That’s a good idea (to) ban people from smoking,” agreed Shedrick Shanklin, of Macon. “I can’t stand all that smoke.”

“I absolutely want them to ban it,” said Loretta Tucker, of Columbus. “I don’t think it will hurt businesses. I think it will help, because people can go to public places and won’t have to worry about smoking and non-smoking areas. I think it should just be non-smoking.”

A public hearing on the proposed smoking ban will be held Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the Columbus Municipal Complex.

The ordinance, proposed by Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box, bans smoking in “all enclosed public places,” including restaurants.

However, the ordinance, which largely is modeled after a Tennessee state law, allows smoking in “age-restricted venues,” or bars, restaurants and other establishments which only allow people age 21 or over to enter, and “private clubs,” which restrict access to the general public.

As written, the ordinance allows businesses with three or fewer employees to designate enclosed smoking rooms, inaccessible to the general public.

Additionally, exemptions are provided for “non-enclosed areas of public places, including, open-air patios, porches or decks.”

“I don’t smoke, so it doesn’t matter,” said Michelle Banks, who was visiting from Arkansas. “It would probably matter to a person that smokes, but to me, it’s better for people who don’t smoke, because we don’t want secondhand smoke.”

“I don’t smoke, so (a ban) doesn’t bother me,” said Douglas Frierson, of Columbus. “I think (a ban) is good, because a lot of people don’t care about blowing smoke in your face.”

“In places, they should (ban smoking),” said James Alford, an Ackerman resident who smoked for more than 40 years, until he quit smoking about eight years ago. “But I think, if you’re out in the open and you’re by yourself, you should be allowed to smoke.”

Freddie Fields, owner of Fuggetaboutit bar and restaurant downtown, said he would support a ban.

“During the day, we have a lot of young kids in here, my grandkids come in here to eat. I would support a smoking ban in public places because there are concerns about second-hand smoke,” he said.

Fields said he plans to build a patio in the back for those who want to smoke.

“It will be a covered place so they can have somewhere to go when it rains,” he said.


November 21, 2009
By Kristin Mamrack, Cdispatch

ROCKVILLE, MD – The National Coalition of Associations of 7-Eleven Franchisees and the New England 7-Eleven Franchise Owners Association filed a formal petition last month with the FDA, asking them to clarify the tobacco product standards provisions of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

FDA Week reports that under a new law, the FDA has banned tobacco products that contain “an artificial or natural flavor or an herb or spice…that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke.” Retailers found selling the banned products are subject to jail time and fines as high as $10,000, along with civil penalties of up to $250,000 per violation. However, the petition states that some products are not clearly labeled as containing flavors. The Coalition said that without absolute clarity from the FDA, retailers are at risk for “substantial and unnecessary economic losses” even when acting in good faith to comply with the Act.

“Even if manufacturers were to provide information that a cigarette contains a natural or artificial fruit, candy, herb or spice flavor, wholesalers and retailers would still be unable to determine the level at which the FDA would consider a particular constituent or additive to be a ‘characterizing flavor’ of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke,” the petition states. “In the absence of further Agency regulations, wholesalers and retailers cannot determine whether many of the cigarette brands they distribute or sell do or do not violate the tobacco product standard for cigarettes.”

The petition asked the FDA to begin the formal rule-making process to implement the law’s ban on both clearly identifiable flavored products as well as those with less definitive labeling. Until the implementation of such rules, the Coalition urged the FDA to “exercise enforcement discretion” on the latter group of products.

Under federal law, the FDA is required to respond to citizen petitions within 180 days.


Aug 18, 2009 © Nacsonline

“Business has never been better,” reports Anto Mahroukian, president of JM Tobacco Company, producer of premium cigars and recently, JM’s Hookah tobaccos. According to Mahroukian, “With the economic downturn, everyday cigar smokers are buying three or four value-priced cigars like our JM’s Dominican line, instead of one super-premium cigar.

After they try a few of ours, they tell us and our retailers, ‘Why haven’t I been smoking these all along?’ Our cigars are made of top-quality tobaccos, but their Cuban sandwich bunching … combining long- and short-filler leaves, reduces their price and still delivers a surprisingly opulent smoke.”

The latest product from JM Tobacco is their new JM’s Dominican Honeys line, offered in a 5.5″ x 42 Corona, with a Sumatran wrapper. (Regular JM’s Dominican cigars come in eight sizes and in Sumatran, Connecticut and Maduro wrappers.) Three selections are available, all with popular honey-dipped heads … the Honey, Honey Vanilla, and Honey Rum. Like the regular JM’s Dominican line, the cigars’ heads are pre-cut as a convenience to the smoker. JM’s Dominican Honeys are presented 24 to the box, opposed to the standard 50/box packaging for the JM’s Dominican line. (The latter’s Gordo and Gordo Grande have 24 cigars to the box, due to their 62-ring gauge.) Pricing for JM’s Dominican Honeys follows the company’s philosophy of offering top-quality hand-rolled cigars at value pricing … MSRP is $60 per box of 24, or $2.50 per cigar. Mahroukian says retailers are reporting these new cigars, introduced earlier this year, are already becoming popular with their customers.

Instead of cutting back during the present hard times, JM Tobacco has expanded their factory in Licey, Santiago, Dominican Republic, by 10%, to 15,000 square feet. Mahroukian explains, “The new area will be mainly used for tobacco storage. We can now also ferment leaves there, which gives us extra latitude in our manufacturing process.”

JM Tobacco is showing the new JM’s Dominican Honeys, as well as their other cigar lines and hookah tobacco, at August’s annual tobacco trade show. All products are currently available from the company.

© Examiner

Despite the SCHIP bill and mounting state taxes, smokeless tobacco products have experienced a strong year packed with innovation, new flavors and increased consumer demand.

According to the NACS 2009 State of the Industry report, smokeless tobacco sales surged 6.1% to $2.96 billion last year. The average c-store totaled $1,703 per month in smokeless sales in 2008, the report found, and by all accounts that number should continue growing in 2009.

“The last two years have been great with smokeless tobacco, with double-digit increases,” said John Kelly, chief operating officer and vice president of operations for Mountain Empire Oil Co. in Johnson City, Tenn., which operates nearly 50 convenience stores under the Roadrunner Markets banner. “We really started focusing in on the category more than we ever had two-and-a-half or three years ago, and we’ve really seen great returns on that. Because we’ve had such great growth with it it’s kind of gotten exciting, so we’ve dug more into it than we might have in the past.”

“Digging into it” has meant expanding the number of SKUs it carries from 40 to 58, more promotions and planogram reviews twice a year with all major suppliers.

Much of what will happen to the category in 2009, Kelly said, has to do with regulation and taxes. “Whether or not the tax structure changes is going to determine a lot,” he said, adding much will also hinge on what companies like RJ Reynolds do with snus, which is now rolling our nationwide.

Cigar, Loose Tobacco Strong
The cigar category has been hit a little harder by SCHIP. What that means for c-store operators who sell cigars in an era of a rough economy, state tax hikes and creeping smoking bans is tougher times ahead, as well as a stronger reliance on manufacturers to provide advertising and promotional support and even repackaging to increase value.

Still, the cigar category jumped 9.1% in 2008 with the nation’s c-stores ringing up $1.57 billion in cigar sales. The average convenience store recorded $905 a month in cigar sales.

With taxes becoming a burden for smokers, it should be no surprise that the tobacco segment with the strongest growth in 2008 was pipe and cigarette tobacco. The NACS State of the Industry report found that channel sales increased a healthy 21.1% last year to $99.4 million.

Phyllis Amro, co-owner of Best Cigarettes in Phoenix, said she is finding that loose-leaf tobacco and rolling paper sales have increased as smokers are making their own cigarettes.

However, loose tobacco and rolling papers came under the recent federal tax increase, with taxes on loose-leaf tobacco increasing from $1.10 to $24.78 per pound. Despite the increase, though, Amro said that it’s still less expensive for customers to roll their own cigarettes than buy prepackaged brands.
© Csdecisions