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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014
DeemeD to Raise Questions
Among the many debates around
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
regulation of tobacco products is whether
the various categories of products should
be regulated on an individual basis or as
a whole. Coming shortly on the heels
of the FDA’s April proposal to extend
its tobacco authority to previously
unregulated marketed products, the
Tobacco Merchants Association’s annual
meeting served as a forum for the industry
to discuss the proposed rules and how the
industry should respond.
The proposal,which calls for the agency
to extend its authority over all products
that meet the statutory definition of a
tobacco product, would bring e-cigarettes,
cigars, pipe tobacco, nicotine gels, water
pipe/hookah tobacco and dissolvables
under the FDA’s regulatory umbrella.
Manufacturers of those products would,
among other requirements, need to
register with the FDA and report product
and ingredient listings, only market new
tobacco products after FDA review, and
not distribute free samples.
Given the wide-ranging implications
of the proposal, the TMA meeting
opened with a panel discussion on
how each of these four categories—
large cigars, little cigars, pipe tobacco
and e-cigarettes/vapor products—
would likely fare under the proposed
regulations.
the PRoblemWith PRemiums
The cigar industry has long lobbied
against lumping cigars, particularly
premium cigars, in with other tobacco
products, arguing that everything from
how the products are made to how they
are used distinguish them from cigarettes
and other traditional tobacco products.At
Talking Tobacco
With the TMA
Highlights from the 99
th
annual meeting
of the Tobacco Merchants Association
Deeming regulations were the focus at the Tobacco Merchants Association (TMA)’s
99
th
annual meeting in May. Speakers and attendees representing the full range of tobacco
categories—large cigars, little cigars, pipe tobacco, e-cigarettes/vapor products and, of
course, traditional cigarettes—debated the potential ramifications, compared notes on the
substantial equivalence application process, and generally enjoyed the chance to exchange
ideas and opportunities with industry peers.
The pages to follow seek to capture the flavor of this informative industry event and offer
helpful takeaways from the panel discussions and presentations.
Mitch Zeller discusses the history of FDA Tobacco
regulation with fellow panelist AHEAD’s Scott Ballin
