One of the most prevalent
questions South Jersey tobacco shops hear nowadays involves a product that’s still
illegal for them to sell.But the mystique of Cuban cigars — the forbidden leaf
— may help local businesses if they ever become legal to sell in the U.S.
“There’s a tremendous amount of
interest on the part of the consumer when they might become available,” said
Andrew Kestein, owner of Smoker’s Haven, which has six New Jersey stores,
including one in Northfield. “There’s a great misunderstanding: People think
they’re available now, which they are not.”The U.S. and Cuba reopened embassies
this week, the latest move to open components of the Communist country to
Americans.
Intact still is the 1962 trade
embargo that outlawed Cuba’s most renowned rolled-up export.But the cigars will
be relatively expensive.Cuban cigars sold elsewhere in the world — from the
Caribbean to Canada — can run from about $20 to nearly $100, local shop owners
said.
Supply and demand will likely
make them costlier if the U.S. — one of the largest cigar markets in the world
— starts consuming them, they said.That may price them outside most smokers’ budgets
except for special occasions or the novelty of smoking a Cuban.
Jeff Melchiondo Sr., owner of
Tobacco Road in Barnegat Township, said the top-end price of the cigars he
sells now is about $30 apiece, with $20 the breaking point for how much most
people are willing to spend.That hasn’t stopped the inquiries.
“They’re asking all the time.
They read something about Cuba, they see the embassies are open,” he said.
“It’s like anything that’s illegal. Because it’s illegal, people want it.”
There is another issue: Americans
might not like the taste of real Cubans, which have stronger, more robust
profiles than what they’re used to, Melchiondo said.Melchiondo, who has smoked
Cubans on vacation in Bermuda, said some are good and some are not.
Kestein said he believes the real
boom to the cigar industry will come several years after Cuban cigars are
allowed for sale in the U.S., when Cuban tobacco gets blended with tobaccos
from the Dominican Republic, Brazil and elsewhere.
“We’re going to have some
absolutely phenomenal cigars. … I think it’s going to create a second cigar
boom,” he said. “We all lived through the first one in the early ’90s.”Restored
relations with Cuba are controversial in the U.S., but a recent survey
indicates Americans are warming to the idea.A Pew Research Center poll released
Tuesday said 72 percent of Americans approved lifting the trade embargo, up
from 66 percent in January.And new regulations allow Americans to bring $100
worth of Cuban cigars into the U.S.At J&J Cigars in Absecon, owner Rinku
Patel said being able to sell Cubans would help his business, which he said has
slumped because of the economy.
“Of course it will help if Cubans
become available,” he said. “Some people, they are always looking for Cubans.”
Contact: 609-272-7253
Twitter @BIanieri
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