Lighters

The essential items for the holy trinity of cigar smoking – slice ‘em, light ‘em and smoke ‘em.

Around 100 million lighters are sold every year in the United Kingdom, most of them inexpensive and disposable. But it all depends on the magic £5 barrier which some see as a dyke to keep the sales of cheap lighters from being washed away.

“When a smoker spends £5 on cigars or cigarettes, the change is often used to buy a lighter,” said Gareth Newton, head of marketing, Swedish Match.

“But if the price of your favourite tobacco goes above £5, then you’ve got to dip into a larger note, which is a psychological barrier many smokers prefer not to go beyond.” It’s a barrier that has been partly created by the fact that most cheap lighters are sold in kiosks. According to a report published by AC Nielsen in August 2005, based on volume sales, 48 per cent of the UK’s lighters are sold in ‘total grocers’ or supermarket chains, such as ASDA and Tesco, about 21 per cent are sold in confectioners, tobacconists and newsagents, 13 per cent in filling stations, four per cent in off licences and the remaining 14 per cent – by ‘others’..

At the moment, nobody wants to rock the boat for the combination of every increasing excessive tobacco duties combined with the threat of smoking bans could sink it, especially as most lighter sales are smoking-related.

And yet, at the moment anyway, things are looking up.

“The market for lighters has been flat for the last couple of years,” said Newton, who confirmed that 80-85 per cent of all lighters currently sold in the UK are flint lighters.

The.....

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By Dominic Roskrow

Section : Cigar Accessories

Page number : 26

Published in Cigar Buyer Issue 6 on 11/11/2005.

This article is 62 months old and some information provided may be time sensitive. Please check all details of events, tours, opening times and other information before travelling or making arrangements.



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	Lighters The essential items for the holy trinity of cigar smoking – slice ‘em, light ‘em and smoke ‘em. Around 100 million lighters are sold every year in the United Kingdom, most of them inexpensive and disposable. But it all depends on the magic £5 barrier which some see as a dyke to keep the sales of cheap lighters from being washed away. “When a smoker spends £5 on cigars or cigarettes, the change is often used to buy a lighter,” said Gareth Newton, head of marketing, Swedish Match. “But if the price of your favourite tobacco goes above £5, then you’ve got to dip into a larger note, which is a psychological barrier many smokers prefer not to go beyond.” It’s a barrier that has been partly created by the fact that most cheap lighters are sold in kiosks. According to a report published by AC Nielsen in August 2005, based on volume sales, 48 per cent of the UK’s lighters are sold in ‘total grocers’ or supermarket chains, such as ASDA and Tesco, about 21 per cent are sold in confectioners, tobacconists and newsagents, 13 per cent in filling stations, four per cent in off licences and the remaining 14 per cent – by ‘others’.. At the moment, nobody wants to rock the boat for the combination of every increasing excessive tobacco duties combined with the threat of smoking bans could sink it, especially as most lighter sales are smoking-related. And yet, at the moment anyway, things are looking up. “The market for lighters has been flat for the last couple of years,” said Newton, who confirmed that 80-85 per cent of all lighters currently sold in the UK are flint lighters. The..... To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue or subscribe to Cigar Buyer to have every issue delivered direct to your door. By Dominic Roskrow Section : Cigar Accessories Page number : 26 Published in Cigar Buyer Issue 6 on 11/11/2005. Subscribe Buy this issue More from this issue Preview other issues This article is 62 months old and some information provided may be time sensitive. Please check all details of events, tours, opening times and other information before travelling or making arrangements. Copyright Cigar Buyer © 1999-2010. All rights reserved. To use or reproduce part or all of this article please contact us for details of how you can do so legally.