Friday, October 15, 2010

Officials: Spice may be behind tobacco shop boom

Officials: Spice may be behind tobacco shop boom

Seems that tobacco shops are opening up everywhere in Jacksonville... but they don't sell all that much tobacco...

An excerpt:

In the same year the state banned smoking in restaurants and bars, a boom in tobacco shop openings in Jacksonville has some scratching their heads.
According to Jacksonville business license specialist Lee Humphrey, six businesses with “tobacco” in the name have opened already this year — two in the last week. About the same number opened between 1983 and 2009, according to city records.
A search of new corporations in the N.C. Secretary of State database shows no similar trend in other towns in the state.
Eddie Atalla, owner of the Tobacco Country USA cigar shop chain in Jacksonville, which opened in 1998, said the number of new openings he has observed this year is closer to 20.
And he believes he knows why.
“There aren’t any new smoking customers. Smoking is on the decline,” Atalla said. “Their profit is not coming from selling cigarettes but comes from selling other things that bring in a huge profit, such as spice, K2, salvia, etcetera.”

Follow the link to read the rest...

50 comments:

  1. Weird, since big tobacco and beer are against ACTUAL marijuana legalization.

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  2. Id take marijauna any day over any form of tobacco. I'd rather smoke a pound then a pack lol.

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  3. i hear ya. i seem to smoke more tobacco now that i quit weed

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  4. Interesting. Tobacco is yuck.. but weed..

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  5. I don't smoke since I saw a man with a hole in his neck, very bizarre, ewwww....

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  6. True the big guys are against it, but the little shop owners and business entrepreneurs are selling Salvia and Spice like hotcakes!

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  7. Interesting, I'll check

    Keep posting, i like this blog.

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  8. Ah, this makes sense. I went to a party the other month where some kids were smoking salvia.

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  9. The rise in popularity of spice is so mind boggling to me. What's wrong with just smoking weed?

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  10. Tried the stuff a few days ago for the first time.

    It gives you the weed high you're looking for, but I'll probably always just stick to the herb.

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  11. eh I have never smoked spice, my little cousins do they are like 14.

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  12. prefer the herb but its the next best thing, be careful though, get clean herbs and do not mix with alcohol...be safe kids

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  13. Smokes as the front!
    Legal drug dealing ftw.

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  14. Don't smoke. Never had. Not since my uncle died from it... :S

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  15. I never understood smokers to be honest.

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  16. I heard marijuana seeds are some epic food you can live off of forever

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  17. Makes sense, although I wasn't aware smoking was on the decline

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  18. Honestly its probably better this way. I mean less smokers = better world.

    great blog btw, following :)

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  19. I've always wanted to try salvia...

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  20. interesting. just found your blog. im liking it!

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  21. I have yet to try Spice, but I've heard good things...it's just so damned expensive...

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  22. spice huh? don't smoke, but this gets me curious.

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  23. Well I guess they gotta keep their profits flowing...

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  24. Interesting post. Spice seems to be popular now a days.

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  25. around my area you just buy it from bodegas, and arab-owned gas stations.

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  26. The profit margin on Spice and K2 has to be astronomical. Plus, lots of people are switching to roll-your-own because smokes are so fucking expensive..

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  27. I love bud but if you are honestly looking for decent spice look for "Scooby Snax" it lasts forever and the buzz is good. smoke it slow, don't take epic bong hits off it or you'll be crying out to jesus (from a anecdotal story i read hahah)

    anyway it is made of high quality herbs, and it is easy on the throat. i wouldnt smoke any of that other shit (k2)it gives me anxiety and i am suspicious of the quality of the product

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  28. i still dont see the point of smoking :\ no high?

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  29. mmmmmm smoking, i can't stop it's so addicting!!!

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  30. smoking is just disgusting, but still good text.

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  31. pondering looking further into this spice stuff!

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  32. Spice just got outlawed where I come from

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