US:New Cigar Regulations For Massachusetts Retailers

Source from:  Cigar Aficionado 10/30/2015

A new set of regulations that address how premium cigars and other tobacco products are sold in the state of Massachusetts recently went into effect.

While the new rules mostly affect mass-market cigars, cigarettes, other tobacco products (OTP) and the businesses that sell these forms of tobacco, premium cigar manufacturers, distributors and retailers are not totally unaffected.

Promotional sales such as 'buy one, get one free' are now illegal, even in cigar shops. Additionally, retailers are only allowed to sell cigars via direct, face-to-face exchanges, meaning no Internet orders. Cigar shops must also display official warning signs on cigar use, and shops can no longer sell cigar branded apparel or merchandise (other than cigars).

Passed by the state's attorney general office earlier this year, the new rules didn't go into effect until September 25 and are intended to prevent minors from being able to purchase tobacco products. The "new" rules are actually a re-issuance of regulations that were first proposed in 2000, but did not pass then. Enditem