Yesmoke Tobacco S.p.A.

The Colossus Confesses, with Proof in his Hands.

Antony Boccanfuso, attorney of the Arnold & Porter LLP Office in New York, is one of those lawyers who demolish the enemies of Philip Morris. On January 28th 2005, in his attempt to demolish Yesmoke, the lawyer informed Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox that the exact number of containers of cigarettes manufactured by Philip Morris and sold illegally every 12 months by the on-line store amounted to 126. A little more than six million cartons a year.

The attorney brought watertight evidence in favor of his Big Tobacco client, with which he is asking Yesmoke, based on the 126 containers per year sold online without "authorization", to pay $ 550 million in damages. Read more »

Smoked by the Cops and the Robbers.

Marlboro's retail market share: $22 BILLION

"Philip Morris and R. J. Reynolds have had a determining role in the direction, management and control of the contraband operations within the European Community .. through company directives issued at top company levels" (Official EU Documents).

Marlboros originally, were not so popular in Italy, but after 20 years of smuggling, the brand has become the unquestioned number one, eliminating the competition with its "duty-free" prices. The same thing has happened with Winston in Spain, after the division of the market with RJR.

Today Philip Morris finds itself with a business, the Marlboro brand, with an estimated worth of 22 billion dollars on a worldwide scale. "Marlboro's retail market share is bigger than the next ten cigarette brands combined," says Jack Holleran, senior vice president of compliance and brand integrity Philip Morris USA. Read more »

At the local store in the USA, cigarette brands are few but “carefully selected” ones.

The U.S. market finds its grotesque paradox in tobacco

“Eat this soup or jump out of the window!” A popular Italian saying that means: you have no choise.

In Switzerland, a citizen can choose the cigarette he wants to be addicted to from an assortment that includes hundreds of national and foreign brands; in New York a smoker can find fewer than 10 choices on the shelves of his local store and he is compelled to get used to one of these. Then, when he has become addicted, he can always find "his" brand. Brilliant!

In the past in the Soviet Union, the only available cigarettes were the socialist ones. Today in U.S., the only available cigarettes that smokers can buy are the ones of Big Tobacco. Read more »

Philip Morris reaches profits of 500%.

Wall Street: On the stock market the price is calculated according to the rules of the market

United States smokers think that cigarettes have become expensive because of higher taxes. But according to the World Health Organization, though the price of cigarettes has seen a constant increase in the past years, the percentage of the price that goes to the State has decreased and is today less than half of the value in 1965.

Comparing the manufacturing costs to today's wholesale prices, Philip Morris should be making a profit (of up to 500%) on its Marlboros… almost as much as the tax collector.

Joe Camel and the Marlboro Cowboy, because of their popular appeal, besides increasing the number of smokers of all ages all over the world, have been very useful for the five big cigarette producers to raise prices - prices that are not related to the quality of the product, but are determined by the advertising messages, icons and slogans. Read more »

2004 Comes to an End.

Year 2005 could be the last one where cigarettes advertisement will be allowed in the Formula One Championship

On the eve of the abolition of cigarette advertising, starting with Formula 1 and with the backing of Big Tobacco, for the first time a product has reached popularity without having to spend a single dollar on advertising. And it has all the rights.

The attacks of those who consider the law a party game are putting Yesmoke in a position where it will have to pay 548 million dollars to Philip Morris, and 17 million to New York City; this last sum has already been imposed by a sentence. Moreover, new problems are arriving all the time for Yesmoke, including a mountain its product already confiscated.

This sounds like the “bleeding to death” of a company. However, the old year is not closing completely negatively for Yesmoke, because thanks to these events, interesting and constructive topics tied not only to the tobacco market have unexpectedly come to the attention of everyone. Read more »

Something strange is happening in the home of the free market.

Federal Law allows American citizens to purchase cigarettes by mail from foreign countries

For some years, the Yesmoke shop has been shipping from Switzerland cigarettes of the finest quality almost all over the world: Marlboro, Camel, Winston, Benson & Edges, etc., of course, always with customs declarations.

And people have spoken well about Yesmoke, which started business on the 1st of January 2000, right from its beginnings.

Starting from the journey to London's BBC, where Yesmoke “explained” to all English language speaking countries that the products received by mail were to be taxed in the country of destination and not in the country they were shipped from… Read more »