Thursday, June 01 2006
Counterfeiting has long been a problem for
Habanos S.A., the firm responsible for worldwide distribution of Cuba's famous brands. The issue is especially acute in the U.S., where an embargo on almost anything from Cuba has been in place since 1962.
But that isn't stopping the counterfeiters.
According to Altadis U.S.A. Vice President Janelle Rosenfeld, a major portion of the counterfeit cigars sold (or attempted to be sold) in the U.S. are, in fact, imitation Cuban cigars.
"Consumers should note that cigars that have the word 'Habanos' or the statement 'made in Cuba' on the packaging are contraband in the U.S.," she noted. "If the Habanos-marked boxes display branding such as
Montecristo, they are violating trademark rights and chances are that they are not even authentic Habanos product anyway."
Unlike the extensive authentication system of seals, stamps and holographic stickers used to identify Cuban cigars, there is no unified system to indicate authenticity of cigars imported into the United States today. However, ProCigar - the Association of Dominican Cigar Manufacturers - does use a holographic seal to verify the genuineness of boxes made by its members, including Altadis U.S.A., La Aurora and MATASA, among others.
No such system is currently in place for Honduran or Nicaraguan manufacturers, although several of the major factories in both countries
hot-stamp their names onto the bottom of all boxes, including
Honduras American Tobacco (HATSA), which makes
Belinda, El Rey del Mundo, Excalibur, Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch and others.
Cuban authorities reported that the national customs service seized 24,690 boxes of cigars in 2005 in an effort to cut down on smuggling. Most of the seizures were made from passengers traveling to Mexico or Panama. In addition to cigars, about 740 pounds of fake bands, seals and stamps were confiscated.
About 80% of the incidents occurred at
Havana's
Jose Marti International Airport, but significant activity was also reported at the Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and Varadero airports.
Short fillers: Macanudo has introduced a tubed size in its light and delicate
Macanudo Gold Label series. The Crystals are robustos of 5 1/2 inches by 50 ring, offered in glass tubes in boxes of 24 . . . stupidity trumped sense in the Canadian province of Ontario, where a heavy-handed indoor smoking ban was instituted on May 31. It prohibits smoking even in retail tobacco shops! . . . the
Havana Cigar Fest and Beach Bash selected the "Top Ten Reasons to Smoke Cigars" after dozens of entries were received by the June 1 deadline. The No. 3 reason was "Because I love watching my money go up in smoke"; No. 2 was "Cigars don't have divorce attorneys" and No. 1 came from Millard Woods of Mentor, Ohio :"With a libation, it's a mini vacation!"
- Rich Perelman in Los Angeles
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Humidor is a publication of Perelman, Pioneer & Company.
Copyright 2006; All rights reserved.
