A lot of our business is the low-income to the middle-income people. If I have to pass on this cost to those people, what are they going to do?

Absolutely. Right down from the gas to get here to the operation of my business. And what can we do about it as small business owners? Nothing.

It's started to suck a lot of our profits right out of the business. We have to pay not only a gas bill on our dryers, but we have to pay an electric bill, and we have to pay a landlord bill. This company right here is just about sucking it all out on us. We don't have anything.

Fundamentally, there is very little genuinely new business about. Much of the new business written is simply premium income that has been recycled from one provider to another.

In a business with zero income until liquidation, what are your resources? What are your abilities to borrow? Without that, you'll never make it.

Our domestic tobacco business delivered solid income gains in a highly competitive marketplace, ... Our international tobacco business delivered strong volume and income gains, with excellent share growth across most of its key markets.