Cigar imports smoking again

Cigar imports smoking again Cigar imports, which have helped Tampa maintain its claim to being 'the Cigar Capital of the World,' are showing a strong increase again.
   The industry experienced an unprecedented boom between 1993 and 1997, when volumes increased by 500 percent as fine cigars turned into a hot, high-status product. But production of quality cigar tobacco lagged behind market demand during the boom, and the fad element faded. As a result, cigar sales started to slump.
   Cigar imports peaked at 417.8 million cigars in 1997, then dropped to248 million in 1999, according to an Associated Press report. But by 2005 imports had increased again to 319.4 million, and slight increase is expected for 2006.
   The report quoted Cooper Gardiner, the vice president of marketing for Tampa-based General Cigar Co., the largest manufacturer of imported, handmade cigars in the U.S., as saying that although the industry is not seeing the number of new cigar smokers seen in the 1990s, the expects the industry to see increases of a few percentage points a year if the tobacco supply can keep up with demand.