3 / 46
12
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
MARCH/APRIL 2016
NEWS & TRENDS
MARCH/APRIL 2016
CigarMaestro.comhas released its sixth educational to-
bacco lesson, which is sure to inspire adult cigar lovers
and those who want to be better educated about the art
of cigar-making. Known as the
Certificado de los Mae-
stros
, this series of lessons is an opportunity for adult
cigar enthusiasts to learn straight from Altadis U.S.A.’s
expert tobacco blenders, the
Grupo de Maestros.
The
Grupo de Maestros
members bring enormous
amounts of premium tobacco and cigar experience, apply-
ing it to the creation and innovation of the world’s leading
cigar brands. With more than 200 years of combined ex-
pertise, the
maestros
take personal responsibility for each
brand they create and work tirelessly to craft the hand-
made premium cigars that
adult enthusiasts enjoy.
Now, the
Grupo de Mae-
stros
wants to continue to
share its knowledge of to-
bacco with adult cigar aficio-
nados alike. Lesson six is a
tutorial about the boldness
of Honduras, which includes
highlights of its growing re-
gions, conditions, specific Honduran cigars for you to try, and
more. Honduras is the third country to be featured within the
Cigar Maestro online educational program.
Cigar Maestro Announces New Tobacco Lesson
The sixth in a series, this educational program will focus on the boldness of Honduras.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has in-
troduced legislation that would increase
the legal age to purchase tobacco to 21;
set minimum prices for certain tobacco
products; mandate minimum package
sizes for various products; prohibit the
redemption of tobacco product coupons;
outlaw multipack discount pricing; re-
quire minimum package sizes of 20 ciga-
rettes, 20 little cigars and four large cigars
unless a cigar has a retail price of more
than $3; and enact new taxes on other
tobacco products.
The sweeping legislation would tax oth-
er tobacco products at the following rates:
•Roll-your-own tobacco at a rate
of $6.60 per ounce;
•Smokeless tobacco at a rate of
$1.80 per ounce;
•Little cigars at a rate of 15 cents
per cigar;
•Large cigars at a rate of 90 cents
per cigar.
However, Emanuel may be overstep-
ping his bounds given that Illinois state
law prohibits the city of Chicago from
enacting any such taxes. According to
the National Association of Tobacco
Outlets, under his state’s law, a home
rule municipality is prohibited from
imposing an excise tax on tobacco
products unless the municipality had
previously adopted such a tax before
July 1, 1993, a prohibition found in 65
Illinois Compiled Statutes Section 5/8-
11-6(a). What’s more, Section 5/8-11-
6(a) also states that the pre-emption is
a constitutional limit on the authority of
home rule cities to enact certain taxes.
The upshot? “This absence of a to-
bacco product’s excise tax precludes
the city of Chicago from now adopting
such an excise tax on cigarette roll-
your-own tobacco, smokeless tobacco,
little cigars and large cigars,” states a
NATO report. NATO has joined forces
with the Cigar Association of America
and the International Premium Cigar
and Pipe Retailers Association to sub-
mit a joint letter to the chairman of the
Chicago City Council’s finance commit-
tee explaining why the tax on other to-
bacco products cannot be adopted.
Chicago Pre-Empted From Adopting Tobacco Tax
NATO and other associations have legal grounds to fight sweeping legislation
proposed by Mayor Emanuel.