Davidoff boss speaks out against health "hypocrisy"

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In an exclusive interview with Travel Retailer International, Davidoff president Dr Ernst Schneider has criticised governments for hypocrisy in regulating the tobacco industry

Davidoff president Dr Ernst Schneider has accused anti-tobacco organisations and governments trying to force through tough tobacco legislation of hypocrisy, by claiming to be concerned for public health while continuing to take huge tax revenues from the tobacco sector. In an exclusive interview with Travel Retailer International, the man responsible for taking Davidoff's business to a global level said the measures laid out in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control diminished consumers' ability to make an "adult choice".

Schneider also revealed that Davidoff has faced over 38 legal actions to defend its trademark in several product sectors, due to the name's association with tobacco products. "It is ironic, because the reason Davidoff diversified in the first place was to protect its trademark," said Schneider, adding that trademark protection ceases after a company has been out of a product sector for five years. "Now they are telling me that we can't own brands in other sectors because we're a tobacco company."

For more detail on Davidoff's cigar business, its franchises and the company's travel-retail ambitions, see the full exclusive interview in TRI June/July, out next month.