Cigar suppliers in the Middle East are facing growing competition from counterfeit cigar sellers, according to an industry professional.
Hadi Sleiman, business development manager in charge of the Habanos brand for Baqer Mohebi Est (BME), said the issue was “a major problem” for legal suppliers.
“Unfortunately there are people claiming they have Cuban cigars and selling them,” he commented at last month’s Habanos Cigar Sommelier competition at La Casa Del Habano in Dubai, hosted by BME.
“We are fighting it, because it’s not fair for people to pay for something that is not authentic, not Cuban, perhaps not even tobacco. These fakes could even be harmful.
“A few years ago we found a factory producing them within the UAE and we stopped them, but now it seems they are bringing cigars from abroad, then faking the bands and boxes and selling them like they were originals,” he continued.
Sleiman said there were clues buyers could look out for, to test whether the product they were purchasing was real or counterfeit.
“The majority of these fake cigars do not come in boxes, they come in bundles; but Habanos does not have any cigars in bundles,” he noted.
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“If it’s much less expensive than what you can find in La Casa Del Habano, it’s not a real cigar; and fake cigars tend not to have health warnings on them.”
BME distributes for Habanos in three countries: the UAE, Oman and Iran.
Commenting on the issue of counterfeit cigars coming into the region, Atiq Mubarak — consumer protection specialist with the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) said the department took such claims “very seriously”.
“Regarding fake cigars, there is of course the health issue as well as the infringement upon the owner’s trademark,” he noted.
“When such an operation is discovered, it is up to the owner of the trademark which is being infringed to bring the counterfeiter to our attention.
“Once they have filed a complaint, we will follow it up, find the counterfeit goods and ensure they are destroyed.
“We will do everything within our power to protect the legal trademark,” he added.
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Mar 9, 2010 , United Arab Emirates
What about selling cohibas that are not roled by the offical cohiba rolling farms, trunthe box and read the codes It is mathematically proven that Cohiba does not produce what is smoked per year, so where these stciks are coming from?