New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued BAT, arguing the company's Brown & Williamson division was breaking the 1998 agreement not to target children with advertising. Spitzer said he and the attorneys general of Maine and Maryland, acting on behalf of 35 other states and jurisdictions, asked Brown & Williamson to end the Kool MIXX campaign. In addition, he is seeking at least $15 million in penalties.

BAT called the disc-jockey competitions a celebration of "the energy and creativity of the urban hip-hop culture". A company spokesman said: "The notion that we were marketing to kids by holding an event in an adult-only venue is absurd. However, we understand the concerns expressed by the judge and, in some cases, by the attorney general, and we are obviously going to follow the judge's ruling."

Brown & Williamson has agreed to stop distributing special packs and merchandise, but is proceeding with a national campaign to find top disc jockeys and MCs. Spitzer sought to end the nightclub promotions, but the judge ruled that only advertising for the events should be curbed.

"This marketing program is designed to broaden awareness of Cigars Around the World and CigarGold.com among affluent individuals," says Stephen Barbella, president of GRC. "To that end, we have selected Forbes magazine for our initial ads, since Forbes' demographics most closely match those that we believe are core for our cigar operations. We plan to add additional publications and broadcast outlets to the program in the next several months."

According to Barbella, there is more than $4 million available to Synergy for the program in trade credits with ICON International, which is a subsidiary of Omnicom.

In addition to print and broadcast advertising featuring Rancic, the program will also utilize key personal appearances by Rancic, including the Arturo Fuente booth at the upcoming 2004 RTDA trade show in Las Vegas.

General Cigar Dominicana's donation, which included medicine, food, and bottled water, was one of the largest Dominican donations made to bolster the relief effort. The supplies were purchased by General Cigar Dominicana and shipped to the flood-ravaged area, out of funds contributed by General Cigar Company - the parent company of General Cigar Dominicana - and O.J. Thrall, a company which acts a partner with General Cigar in growing Connecticut shade wrapper tobacco, as well as by General Cigar Dominicana employees who each donated what amounted to an entire day's worth of pay to aid flood victims.

Modesta Fondeur, General Cigar Dominicana's senior vice president of tobacco and operations said, "We are deeply saddened by the recent tragedy that has affected the Dominican Republic and our neighbors in Haiti. At the same time, I am especially pleased by the way in which our employees voluntarily decided to donate a day's wage to the relief effort, although none of us lost family or friends in the tragedy." General Cigar Dominicana is planning to make an additional donation to the flood relief effort and to help in any way it can.

Following a six month review, David Brunson, president and chief financial officer of NATC, stated that "NATC has determined that Louisville offers the best overall economic environment from which to continue to grow National Tobacco's and Stoker's smokeless and roll- your-own tobacco businesses. Consequently, all manufacturing operations will be relocated to Louisville within the next four months."

Brunson also stated that the Fred Stoker and Sons, Inc. catalog and fulfillment operation would continue to operate from its Dresden facility.

CTC Tube Company manufactures and sells filter tubes in Canada and the U.S.A. and also exports to various markets including Europe and the Far East. The company produces Premier, one of the leading filter tube brands in the Canadian market.