Final Exam Insurance

UPDATE:  We are extending Final Exam Insurance until July 4, 2020.  We are very pleased with the success and feedback on this program and glad to see it is not being abused or overused by our apprentices.  Above all, we are focused on maintaining the integrity and credibility of our certification programs but we are also very conscious of the financial burden faced by our students.  Final Exam Insurance is helping us maintain our standards while alleviating some of the financial stress created by having to pay for final exams and certifications.  We hope this program helps give you a little peace of mind and relieves a bit of stress from the test taking process.  Best of luck!

Happy New Year 2020, and welcome to one of our most exciting offers ever!  Starting now, and until February 29th, 2020 we are offering Final Exam Insurance to any apprentice taking the final exam - more specifically, anyone who purchases their exam by 2/29/20.  This means if you don't score the requisite 90%, we will allow you (CRT, CCT, CST) to take the test one more time for free!  Please take advantage of this very special opportunity before it disappears...

While we prefer not to divulge our exam failure rate, we can tell you that it is a double digit percentage.  Those who don't pass the first time usually attempt the final exam again and others simply fade away.  We hope this opportunity relieves some of the emotional and financial stress that our students face.  Not everyone is a good test taker, so this should help many of you get over the hump.  Good luck!

Certification FAQ

Everyday we get emails and phone calls with questions about our certification programs.  Here is a helpful table to help you compare, contrast and understand the differences between our programs.  You can always email or call if you have any other questions.

You can also visit the GET CERTIFIED section of our website to get all the details.

The Certified Consumer Tobacconist Evolution

Any tobacconist worth their salt can tell you about innumerable atrocities committed by ignorant consumers: these include lighting cigars backwards, lighting the cedar sleeve (sometimes including the silk ribbon at the foot), using a torch lighter on a briar pipe, complaining about stems in premium cigar filler, licking an entire cigar then using a shop cutter, sticking a cigar in their nose then returning it to a display box, and many many more!

Furthermore, few people truly understand what priming is, the importance of air curing, the magic of fermentation, the extraordinary skill it takes to blend and roll a cigar, much less the thousands of artisanal steps between seed and ash.   

But the real shame is the lack of activism and pro-activity of luxury cigar and pipe smokers.  After all, luxury tobacco can be a selfish pursuit, in that we enjoy it solely for ourselves.  It can be easy to forget that our beloved products, lifestyle and freedoms are constantly being demonized and  eroded by over-regulation and over-taxation.  No other profession suffers more punishment and threats from local, state, and federal governments.  And of course countless "health" groups, with hundreds of millions of dollars in their budgets, drive their mission to erase us from existence.  

Ultimately, the only way to combat these forces is through education and activism.  That activism can be as simple as sharing your passions with those who don't know any better, educating your peers, and of course supporting Cigar Rights of America so they can provide a political voice in Washington DC and at the state and local level.  

If you really love these products, then you must take a stand and be proactive.  Any loud mouth can pontificate about what they think they know, but only a Tobacconist University (TU) Certified Tobacconist has proven their fundamental knowledge.  The new TU Certified Consumer Tobacconist (CCT) degree is a historic and revolutionary way to prove your knowledge and join the fight for our freedoms at the same time.  The new CCT program can be purchased in the GET CERTIFIED section of the TU website for $100 and comes with a free one year membership to Cigar Rights of America (CRA).  If you are smart enough to pass the test, you will be a Certified Consumer Tobacconist and a member of the CRA.  There is no better representative of this industry than a CCT/CRA member and we encourage you to join our ranks and help us preserve luxury tobacco for generations to come!

THE CCT PROCESS

1. Accept The Consumer Code of Ethics & Standards & Apply for Apprenticeship

- After your $100 payment your apprentice listing will appear on the TU website and the CRA will initiate your annual membership

2. Study the TU Academic Curriculum at your own pace

3. Take the Final Exam* on the TU website

- if you pass you will be awarded your CCT degree and your website listing will be certified

- if you fail, you will be removed from the TU website, but your CRA membership will continue

* The TU Final Exam for CCT is 50 questions, multiple-choice and True/False.  It is the same length and difficulty as the original professional test for certified tobacconists which was used from 1996-2005.

The 2015 Media Challenge

Starting in April of 2015, all Certified Retail Tobacconists (CRT) will be able to certify consumers as CCT.  This means, any consumer can be certified by a CRT, thereby proving their knowledge and strengthening the bond between retail tobacconists and their customers.  This historic program has the potential to elevate the credibility and prestige of the entire industry!

At TU, we often say that becoming certified will not make you a great tobacconist, but at least we are establishing fundamentals that we can agree on as professionals and consumers.  But, no matter how educated consumers and tobacconists are, it would be counter productive to continue to have under educated writers on the internet, magazines, and other media.  Bad information and uninformed opinions snowball and hurts the entire industry.  

While facts, truth, and knowledge may not matter to many marketers, it does matter to retailers and consumers.  Through certification we can establish a strong foundation of knowledge which bonds consumers, media, and retailers, thereby helping to build credibility and culture for the luxury tobacco industry.  

A lack of truth and transparency undermines our industry.  

So, to that end, we are inviting any and all media members in the premium tobacco industry to become certified, for free, as CCT with their local Certified Retail Tobacconists.  That's right, we said "FOR FREE"!  During the month of April we are extending an open invitation to any and all industry media to sign up and become certified.  As long as you sign up in April, you can take the test at your convenience during 2015 with your CRT Sponsor.  

Click here to learn about the CCT Process.

Email TU if you have any questions.  

Certifying Consumers - CCT!

1/1/2016 UPDATE:  The CCT Process has been changed since the publishing of this article.  Visit our Get Certified webpage for more info.

There's a difference between opinions and facts.  There's a difference between information and education.  And there's a difference between those who know and those who don't.  If you read about cigars and pipes on the internet, or advertising laden magazines, you will be misled, you will believe things that aren't true and/or biased, and you will fail to appreciate the true natural artistry and wonder of the luxury tobacco industry.  

TU Certification is about teaching fundamentals and facts.  We do not tell you what is good or bad, but simply try to make sure you have all of the tools and knowledge to make educated decisions and enhance your appreciation: that is why we certify tobacconists and consumers.

TU CERTIFICATION:  CRT, CST, & CCT
There are two main professional TU Certifications: Certified Retail Tobacconist (CRT) and Certified Salesforce Tobacconist (CST).  These professional degrees require passing a 100 question test.  The Certified Consumer Tobacconist (CCT) degree requires passing a 50 question final exam, with a 90% or better score.  All certifications are based on the TU Academic Curriculum found in our Campus.

The CCT Process

1.  Ask any CRT to be your CRT Sponsor
2.  Sign up as a CCT Apprentice on the TU website.  This means you accept the TU Code of Ethics & Standards, submit your personal information for your CCT listing, and tell us who your CRT Sponsor is.
3.  Schedule your final exam with your CRT Sponsor anytime after you become an apprentice.  The final exam will be accessed by your CRT Sponsor through a password protected secure website and the consumer will take the test on the web, with the CRT 
Sponsor present.
4.  Once you pass the exam you will receive your CCT credentials and be entitled to special products, certified accoutrements, and privileges with TU and at your Certified Retail Tobacconist's store*.   
*Benefits will vary by retailers.


Currently, any consumer can become certified through any Certified Retail Tobacconist (CRT).  TU started certifying consumers in 1996, culminating in 2014, for a fee of $500.  Starting in 2015, we turned that business over to our CRT, which empowers them to certify at will and charge significantly less for the service.  Now consumer certification prices are determined by CRT.