December 2003 Industry Report: SMOKESHOP's 2003 Industry Report Smokeshop Magazine's annual analysis of specialty tobacco retailing, based on our survey of retail performance in 2002. Producing Regions: Nicaragua: Growing by Leaps and Bounds by E. Edward Hoyt III From the cigar making capital of Estelí, to the farms of Condega and the remote Jalapa Valley, Nicaragua's cigar industry is abuzz with the hottest strains of rich tobaccos, expanded factories, and some of the most talked about brands in the market. Boutique Brands: Just What the Doctor Ordered by Dale Scott California chiropractor Dr. Garo Bouldoukian develops blends to please his own palate, making his rising cigar company, Garo Habano Cigar Company, a labor of love. Retailer and Tobacco Industry News SMOKESHOP's Industry news department, bringing you up-to-date information and breaking stories about manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers. Nuestra to Distribute Toraño Brands in Canada RJR, B.A.T. to Merge U.S. Operations North Atlantic Trading Company Acquires Stoker, Inc. Flor del Cielo: Lost World of Ybor's Cuban Immigrants Hacker Smokes Out NBC-TV Western Four Million Zippos and Counting Angels Grace Poker Run Lending a Heavenly Hand Puros Indios Newsletter Debuts Court Slashes Republic Tobacco Judgement Obituary: Ernst Arnold Ludwig André, 76 Gifts and Accessories for Cigar, Pipe, and Cigarette Smokers Are You Ready for Holiday Sales? - by E. Edward Hoyt III What's Happening and Where in the Tobacco Industry Trends and Trendsetters in Specialty Tobacco Retailing Merchandise and News from the Pipe World Tobacco Products and Industry Promotions SMOKESHOP (ISSN 0146-9266), established in 1970, is published bi-monthly by Lockwood Trade Journal Co., Inc., 26 Broadway, Floor 9M, New York, NY 10004 USA. Copyright © 1998 by Lockwood Trade Journal Co. Inc. HTML production and copyright © 1999-2003 by Keys Technologies. All rights reserved.