Intellicig Electronic Cigarettes Go Organic In The States

Intellicig electronic cigarettes go Organic in the States

Intellicig’s organic growth rivals that of Jack’s Beanstalk, but Intellicig is far from being a fairytale, it’s a real-life success story! In less than three years, Intellicig has grown from a start-up company into a multi-million pound business. Hard work, determination, and passion are the key elements, underpinned by Intellicig’s unswerving belief that what they do can really makes a difference to peoples’ lives; it already has made a difference to many thousands of ex-smokers who have successfully made the transition from inhaling burning tobacco to the ultra high-tech, electronic alternative from Intellicig.

Intellicig’s official opening of their new USA sales office and distribution centre in Atlanta, Georgia, last week was a resounding success, with over seventy business associates, potential buyers from across the country, and media, all enjoying the hospitality and the presentation of Intellicig products. The presence of an Intellicig UK Director and their International Trade Manager epitomised the level of involvement and commitment of this vibrant and innovative company.

Intellicig is the leading manufacturer of Electronic Cigarettes, with their Head Office in Lancashire and a dedicated manufacturing facility within the UMIC Bioscience Centre in Manchester. They are soon to celebrate their third birthday, and their achievement so far – Intellicig products are currently stocked in over 5,000 UK stores, are exported worldwide to over 23 countries, and are available with customised packaging in 8 languages – is testimony to their success. The Intellicig team fully support their International Partners by guiding them through the export/import procedures, liaising with Government Departments and Embassies, and ensuring a smooth delivery of Intellicig products all the way to the end user.

Electronic Cigarettes have enjoyed huge popularity in the USA, with an estimated market of over 50m dollars per year and a year on year growth of 100%. The mainstream market is made up of products manufactured in China, often to undetermined quality standards. Intellicig identified this opportunity last year and developed a strategic plan to expand their customer base significantly across the USA. Intellicig’s quality control, laboratory production, and batch-testing of ingredients and final product, are recognised by Trade Partners and end users as significant, positive factors when making their choice.

Intellicig USA is being headed up by Sherry Cassaw, who has extensive business development and logistics experience in the medical devices sector. Sherry said: “We are so excited about the launch of Intellicig USA, retailers over here are crying out for a reliable product that is manufactured to a known standard. Electronic Cigarettes in the USA have experienced substantial popularity and now people are keen to know what they are inhaling. Intellicig manufacture their nicotine liquid and refills in the UK in their own Bioscience Facility based in the University of Manchester, this gives us all confidence, especially end users.”

David Newns, an Intellicig Company Director, said: “We have had a tremendous response already from our USA launch, as buyers want a credible alternative to stock in their stores, one that can be qualified for quality and consistency. The UK and USA have a long history of strong trade links and we have had great support from the local Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta. We have specific growth plans in place and will continue our endeavours to increase our sizeable share in this rapidly expanding market.”

“With regulation in mind, the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) is seeking to identify quality products which are manufactured to known standards; Intellicig are ahead of the game here too, as our products are designed and produced to exceed current, and future, regulatory requirements. Our proprietary nicotine liquid is manufactured in our own laboratory at UMIC, a renowned Bioscience Centre, using ingredients to Pharmacopoeia standards and we have recently installed High Performance Liquid Chromatography equipment to enable in-house batch-testing, another first in the industry. We continue to be the pioneering company in this field and consistently aim to raise the bar for standards of quality and purity.”

Intellicig has already created 10 new jobs in Atlanta and will grow its UK manufacturing base to support the increased product demand, meaning a further 10 jobs can be created in the production department at Manchester.

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ROP foils smuggling of banned cigarettes

In the second operation of its kind this month, the Customs Department in Al Dhahirah foiled the smuggling of cigarettes hidden in a water tanker. The smuggler, who tried to import the cigarettes via Wadi Al Jizzi border checkpoint, used a similar technique as the earlier one.
He was found to have divided his 600-gallon tanker by a metal partition behind which he kept some 700 cartons of cigarettes that is an imitation which is banned to enter the Sultanate.
The earlier operation took place at Wadi Saa’ border checkpoint when a man was arrested smuggling banned cigarettes. The two instances of smuggling were in violation of the unified GCC Customs Law.

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Kingston’s Edie Adams made smoking sexy and fashionable in the ’50s and ’60s

For more than a decade, Edie Adams appeared in magazine ads and television commercials as the pitch-lady for Muriel cigars. Clad in a sequined, low-cut dress, the blonde temptress taunted men with her scintillating come-on line, “Why don’t you pick one up and smoke it sometime?” More popular was the commercial in which Adams pitched the 10-cent cigars by breathily singing, “Hey, big spender, spend a little dime with me.”

At a time when consumerism was booming across the nation, the advertising industry persuaded Americans to purchase new products as a sign of status. Smoking was considered “sexy” and “fashionable,” and the sensual Adams used television to propel her career as a singer, Broadway, television and film actress and comedienne.

Born on April 16, 1927 in Kingston, Edith Elizabeth Enke was the daughter of Sheldon and Ada Adams Enke. The family relocated to Grove City and eventually to Tenafly, N.J., where Edie finished high school. Her mother taught her to sing and play the piano and she refined these talents as a youngster with the Grove City Presbyterian Church choir.

Edie’s passion for music inspired her to earn a vocal degree from the Julliard School of Music before matriculating to the Columbia School of Drama. She also studied at the Actor’s Studio in New York and the Traphagen School of Fashion Design, where she became adept at designing and sewing.

Uncertain about pursuing a career in fashion design or music, Adams cast her fate to serendipity. She solidified her singing reputation on the nightclub circuit and appearing in such stage shows as “Blithe Spirit” and “Goodnight Ladies.”

In 1950, she won the “Miss U.S. Television” beauty contest, which led to an appearance on the Milton Berle Show. Adams’ big break came shortly after when she appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts. Although she didn’t win the contest, she was discovered by the producer of the Philadelphia-based Ernie Kovacs Comedy Show. The producer envisioned her as a seductive “straight man” who could mesh well with the zany comedian.

Adams began working regularly in television with Kovacs, who was outrageously funny. The show, which was live and unrehearsed, was groundbreaking in the new medium of television.

Edie developed an exceptional talent for impressions, imitating celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Mae West and Zsa Zsa Gabor. The duo performed such hilarious skits as “Ernie in Kovacsland” (1951) and “Kovacs on the Korner” (1952). But the show was short-lived, being too progressive for mainstream audiences.

Kovacs and Adams married on Sept. 12, 1954 and became a popular couple in the Hollywood social circuit in the late 1950s. The husband-wife team revived their careers in a comedy series, winning Emmy nominations for best performances in 1957. In 1960, the duo portrayed themselves as the guest stars in the final Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz hour-long TV special.

After Kovacs was killed in a 1962 car accident, Adams was left with his significant gambling debts. Instead of filing bankruptcy, however, she worked her way out of debt and, in the process, her career received a second wind.

She returned to the nightclub circuit, recorded albums and toured the country in various dramatic and musical comedy vehicles including “Rain” (as Sadie Thompson), “Bell’s Are Ringing,” “Annie Get Your Gun” (as Annie Oakley), “I Do! I Do!”, “Anything Goes” and “Bus Stop.”

Adams also played supporting roles in several films, including the bitter secretary of two-timing Fred MacMurray in the Oscar-winning film The Apartment (1960) and the wife of presidential candidate Cliff Robertson in 1964′s The Best Man.

More than anything, however, Adams was known for pitching Muriel cigars to television audiences. In the 1950s and 1960s, cigarette smoking was extremely fashionable. Americans considered the practice “cool” because almost everyone in the public eye smoked, including sports figures, movie stars and singers. And with the popularity of television, viewers in the 1950s and 1960s routinely witnessed their heroes lighting-up. Tobacco companies mounted effective ad campaigns for their products, too. There were “singing cigarettes,” “dancing cigarettes,” movie stars pitching cigarettes, and even actors portraying doctors who promoted the “benefits” of cheap cigarettes in television commercials.

The makers of Muriel cigars cashed in on the craze by employing Edie Adams’ star power during the 1950s and 1960s. Considering that her late husband had been a notorious cigar smoker, who at one time sold Dutch Master cigars on TV, the idea of Edie pitching a slimmer cigar on television was only natural. Dressed in sexy attire, the blonde beauty impersonated the sensual stereotype of Marilyn Monroe. With a wink and a smile, she cooed one of her trademark cigar slogans while holding a box of Muriels in hand. The commercials were smashingly successful and highly profitable. What’s more, Edie made sure that she exercised her influence on the direction of the advertisements, providing them with a perfect blend of class, glamour and sensuality.

While growing noticeably heavier in later years, Adams never lost her trademark humor and sex appeal. She made occasional stage appearances in such shows as “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” the female version of “The Odd Couple,” “Hello, Dolly!” and “Nunsense.” She also started her own cosmetic and beauty salon businesses.

Edie had two later marriages, briefly to photographer Martin Mills and then to trumpeter Pete Candoli. She gave birth to two children: a daughter, Mia Susan Kovacs, who was born in 1959 and killed in an automobile accident in 1982, and a son, Joshua Mills.

Because of her 20 years of commercials for Muriel cigars and her successful business ventures, Adams went from being mired in debt after Kovacs’ fatal accident in 1962 to being a millionaire in 1989. Suffering from cancer and losing weight in recent years, Adams died of complications from pneumonia at age 81 in Los Angeles on Oct. 15, 2008.

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Smoking Laws Regulate Tobacco Sales

By-laws which could regulate the sale of Lucky Strike cigarettes in shops near schools, ban smoking in some indoor areas and decide which shisha cafes are licensed, are to be voted on by the Health Council early next month.

The laws, which should have come into effect by the end of last year, will clarify the enforcement of federal anti-tobacco law No 15, issued in early 2009 by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE.

Dr. Wedad al Maidoor, the head of the National Tobacco Control Committee, said the by-laws were pending official approval because further steps had to be taken before smoking bans take effect in coming months.

The delay in drafting the by-laws was unavoidable, said Dr al Maidoor. “We have been in continuous meetings with all the concerned authorities and all the partners who must be included in drafting the by-laws, trying to find the best solutions,” she said. “We are almost done and in the final phase.”

Government departments involved in submitting proposals on what rules and regulations the law should address include the Ministry of Health, the various health authorities, Civil Defence, the municipalities and the Ministry of Economy.

Dr al Maidoor did not expect concerns or complaints about the by-laws to be lodged. That had already been dealt with, she said.

“The Health Council has to approve all laws. If the by-laws do not meet with opposition, the by-laws continue on to the Federal National Council. Within a few months, we can finalise this and start enforcing the laws,” she said.

Salem bin Mesmar, the assistant director general for the environment, health and safety control sector at Dubai Municipality, said smoking was a global crisis that needed immediate action.

Drafting the by-laws, he said, “was not an easy task”. “The Ministry of Health wants smoking all over UAE to be regulated and this law needs an appendix which explains the law in more detail and highlights the technical requirements.”

The details that had to be ironed out related to smoking, tobacco and packaging, he said.

“All over the world there is an increase of smokers, especially in the Third World and the Middle East – even in young people – and one reason for this is because companies invest heavily on advertisements,” Mr Mesmar said.

This month, Britain announced plans to enforce strict laws banning the display of cigarette packages behind cash counters from April 2012 in large shops and by 2015 for all others. The UK government aims to change social behaviour by considering a push for unbranded, plain packages.

Mr Mesmar said similar laws could come into force in the UAE. “The new rule on box advertising is coming here and we will deal with it on a GCC level,” he said.

“We would like to see the advertising on the box drop down to zero.”

In 2007, the Dubai Government approached the municipality to regulate smoking in shopping malls. Following discussions with the Shopping Mall Council, Dubai Festival City became the first smoke-free mall in the city.

“For phase two, we regulated smoking in hotels while working with the Dubai Tourism Authority. In phase three, we concentrated on cafes and restaurants, where we started with shisha, because the Government did not like it expanding,” said Mr Mesmar.

Business owners were given one year to follow the rules, but due to the financial crisis, cases were sometimes reviewed separately under special circumstances.

“Some smokers use the excuse for continuing the habit that there is too much pressure in the world and they believe it offers stress relief. Believe me, nobody who truly understands its effects will smoke.”

Dr al Maidoor said a large part of the drafted by-laws were concerned with enforcement, so that the burden was divided equally between government and private departments.

“Really, the law as it stands is quite clear and everyone should be enforcing it already. They definitely will once it is official – printed in the official gazette.”

The World Health Organisation reports that in addition to the five million people who die annually from smoking – six every second – at least 600,000 more die from second-hand, passive smoking

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