"Dirty and sweet--clad in black..." Don't look back
The industry has grown ever more reliant on revenue from menthols
In 2012, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration issued a specialized governance opinion, explicitly requiring that the retail price of cigarettes should not exceed 1000 yuan per 200 cigarettes
Joe Thompson introduced staff training to ensure that customers would receive the same quality and service in every store
A 2020 New York seizure of 6,267 cartons of cigarettes required a long-term investigation, including court-authorized search warrants, wiretaps, grand jury subpoenas, and other investigative tools.[2] A Wellesley Island Station Anti-Smuggling Unit, with the help of US Border Patrol agents, seized more than 1 million cigarettes (worth more than $300,000) in April 2024.[3] A 2023 New York City raid seized more than 1,800 cartons of cigarettes and $155,000 in cash.[4] But even when successful, policing smuggling is costly and only prohibits a drop of water in the East River of smuggling activity