You may be aware that a number of ballot measures were up last week for raising cigar taxes in several states. In this week’s cigar news updates, I will let you know what happened. There is not a whole lot in the way of other news right now, but there are some Fuente updates and a new release from Atlantic Cigars.

New and Upcoming Releases:

• If you have shopped for Arturo Fuente Don Carlos cigars recently, you may have noticed a change in their appearance. While the cigar itself is unchanged, the band is now different. The red background has been replaced by a black one for a new look.
• Atlantic Cigar Co. is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a brand new Viaje release. This release is exclusive to the retailer and can only be purchased directly from Atlantic Cigars. Called the Viaje Atlantic 20th Anniversary WLP 20th Limited Edition Toro, it measures 6 x 52 and comes box-pressed. The blend is a Nicaraguan puro with Cuban-seed fillers an a criollo wrapper. It is being manufactured in Honduras, and costs $9 per cigar. Only 400 boxes are being produced, each containing 10 cigars.

Legal News:

• The Dallas City Council just voted 8-6 to ban smoking in Dallas parks. While this is not great news, there are some exceptions to the ban. You can for example smoke at the State Fair of Texas in Fair Park. You also can still smoke at city-owned golf courses as well as the Elm Fork Shooting Range. So while we’d obviously prefer there were no ban, we can at least say that the city council has taken steps to ensure that cigar smoking is still permitted in outdoor venues where it is popular.
• S.B. 2765 is a new bill which could limit the state taxes on New Jersey cigars. Right now the taxes on New Jersey cigars are set at 30% of the wholesale price. If passed, the bill would set a cap which would bring down costs for all cigars with a MSRP of $3.40 or more. For a cigar priced at $9, that could mean a $1 reduction in price. Let’s hope this passes.
• Finally, the biggest news concerns last week’s polls. As you probably know, a few different measures pertaining to cigar taxes were on the ballots in North Dakota, Missouri, Colorado, and California. Voters in Missouri, North Dakota, and Colorado defeated the measures, so cigar taxes in those states will not be going up. In California however, Proposition 56 passed. Over sixty percent of voters backed the measure, which will drive up cigar taxes by an astonishing 153%. Right now cigar taxes in the state are 27.3%. Going forward the new tax should be around 69.2%. This change will go into effect on July 1st of 2017, so if you live in California, get your expensive purchases out of the way ASAP.

Thanks for checking in with us for this week’s cigar news updates. Be sure to check back in with us soon for more news!