Academic

Huge Cigar Counterfeiting Ring Exposed. I Wonder If They Were Grape Flavored?

By Dan Filler

Alabama authorities have busted a huge cigar counterfeiting ring involving hundreds of thousands of cigars.  Apparently, many were masquerading as Swisher Sweets an "affordably priced" brand that comes in packs of five and boxes of 50.  Swisher caught on to the scam when they noticed bogus Swisher Cigarillos swirling around town.  The fakes were really uninspected Chinese and Indian cigars.

But here's my question.  Did anyone notice the difference?  Or are the Swisher products sufficiently undistinguished that the average purchaser was equally pleased with the counterfeits?  Is this a story about customers being cheated or only Swisher being fleeced?  (I think the two resonate differently.)   More importantly: did the Chinese and Indian importers offer peach, strawberry, and grape?

And here's my bias coming out.  My first thought was: who cares?

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on July 28, 2009 (boomark / email).