Category: Tobacco

  • If cannabis is the answer, what is the question?

    This column originally appeared in DFNI* Late last year, United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell described the production of industrial hemp as a “bright spot” for America’s embattled tobacco farmers. It was a marked shift for the man who, in 2014, told a radio station that legalising marijuana would be “giving up”. But the…

  • Size does matter

    This column was originally published in DFNI* Are the days of giant boxes of cigars fading? It is starting to look that way, if the latest murmurings from the industry – and the latest releases – are anything to go by. Before you panic, the products themselves are not getting smaller; cigars are still being…

  • Is craft tobacco the future?

    This column was originally published in DFNI* Can you imagine flying to a country just to buy a product in duty free? That is the latest development in the cigar market and it could herald a coming change in the way tobacco companies compensate for the barrage of challenges they face on a seemingly weekly…

  • The Chinese are coming

    This column was originally published in DFNI* It seems almost lazy to write about the importance of Chinese shoppers for any section of the duty free industry these days. You can hardly move for hearing about how Asia Pacific is driving growth, or the Chinese shoppers are the key to success in the current market.…