"ZEN Goes 100"

   There is news from CTC www.premiersupermatic.com in the tube market that signifies yet another milestone and that is their partnering (or absorption - depending on how you look at it) with/by Imperial Tobacco. Much needed new machinery to massively increase production of the Premier 100 mm tubes is only one of many potential advantages of this acquisition Not much is know about Imperial tobacco in the US as they focus mostly on Europe and the Third world. They are the 4th largest tobacco company on the planet and the potential resource that may become available to CTC as a result of this merger could have wonderful ramifications for improved technology due to greater R&D dollars as well as additional marketing power from increased advertising dollars. CTC makes many of the most popular tubes in the US for many different companies and under their own brand names as well and their dedication to quality and customer service is outstanding. It appears at first blush that Imperial is showing the wisdom that RJ Reynolds showed when it acquired American Spirit. That is, they left them alone only providing help where needed rather than attempting to completely re-organize an already successful company. We hope that is the final path that Imperial chooses. They have a lot of experience in world wide marketing and if they take CTC's innovative spirit and help finance its growth and deployment, the products that can come from CTC in the future could revolutionize the industry. The possibilities for a great team effort are enormous. We'll know more when we return so until then, if you get a chance to try the new ZEN 100's, let us know what you think.  

   The much anticipated Vera Cruz (www.veracruzbrand.com) has arrived and is already causing quite a stir as it is the first, truly elegant, designer quality MYO tube in the world. Though much more expensive to produce, its wholesale cost is only a little higher than normal tubes and less than some 100mms and unique size tubes like the Rizla. At left is finally a production graphic of the actual Vera Cruz "Nocturne" tube. We are told that many orders have already been placed to CTC, its maker, and this new tube portends to change the way many folks, especially those who have not yet left the ranks of the packaged cigarette smoker, feel about making their own custom cigarettes. We hope this is the case, as the true goal of the RYO/MYO philosophy is to encourage folks to treat each smoke as a very special event. A tube this beautiful really brings that experience home. Few would consider drinking a fine wine out of a paper cup and the same aesthetic should apply to tobacco. We have tried the finished production version of the Vera Cruz tube and are astounded at its elegance and tastiness. It leaves the tobacco flavor alone like a good tube should, while showing the world that the smoker is proud that he or she is smoking a custom made cigarette, one that they personally selected all elements of. It will be interesting to see the reaction to this tube at the show. There is nothing else like it on the planet and I predict it will change the way the entire industry and the smoking public looks at the cosmetics and image of RYO/MYO. Of course, I have been encouraging such an innovative change for several years now, and perhaps it is beginning to sink in. Time will tell, but I can assure you of one thing. Taking this tube out in public attracted a whole lot of attention everywhere I went among the smoking public, and the same was true at this year's RTDA. As one person put it during a smoke break/intermission at a concert I recently attended, "that is the most beautiful cigarette I have ever seen." And . . . They were not even smokers!

Update: The Vera Cruz "Nocturne" king size filtered cigarette tube was one of the real hits of the RTDA show last year in Nashville. They are already significantly backordered (as I predicted) and the excitement about the escalation in the image of MYO is palpable. The new tube attracted a great number of people from the cigar shop world who had not yet been introduced to the profit potential of carrying make your own supplies. This new tube is just what they needed to realize that the Make Your Own world can be every bit as luxurious and connoisseur driven as is the cigar market. CTC did an outstanding job on this new product from start to finish, and took the time necessary to do it right. Really right. Let the show begin. The official RTDA flyer for the Vera Cruz "Nocturne" tube is shown at right above. You will find them at many fine tobacco shops already, and online at such shops as D&R Tobacco www.cigarettetobacco.com, RYO Tobacco www.ryotobacco.com , www.ryocigarette.com, www.lilbrown.com and even though they are backordered, the first run was plentiful enough and distributed wisely to meet the market demand for a while. For you retailers, HJBailey www.hjbailey.com is one of many distributors including D&R who also distributes quantities. For upcoming information about this great new tube, and more and more places to find them, visit the Vera Cruz website, at www.veracruzbrand.com .

  The MYO industry is continuing in its proactive and aggressive development of more and better products to serve the growing number of smokers who are looking for an alternative to the obsession driven ambience of packaged smokes. Smokers are increasingly looking at the enjoyment of tobacco in a much more personal way and with their own varying tastes at the control switch. They are being served well.

   This is all we have for now from the world of tubes. As more new designs come to life we will test them and let you know what we think. For those of you new to all of this, we suggest you consult our Archive section as every tube in the world worth writing about will be found there. Until next time, keep in touch and let us know your thoughts on each of the products we review. This is a fascinating subject that is shared by many hundreds of thousand of readers and each of us wants to know what the other person's impressions are.  We look forward to hearing from you. -the ed.