Cuba sees cigar sales rise 9%

HAVANA (AP) Sales of Cuba's famed cigars are sizzling, despite continued recession fears in Europe and a U.S. embargo that bars American aficionados from legally lighting up.
Cuba's national cigar maker Habanos SA, a joint venture between the Communist-run government and the British-owned, Madrid-based tobacco giant Altadis, announced Monday that sales totaled $401 million in 2011, a 9% rise over the previous year. Continued