Four states–Arizona, Louisiana, Michigan and Texas–filed an amicus curiae on February 21, 2017 in opposition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) FDA deeming rulings.
This brief follows and is part of the joint lawsuit filed by Cigar Rights of America (CRA), International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailer (IPCPR) and Cigar Association of America (CAA) that Tobacco Business reported on here.
The four states argue two points in the briefing that many in the tobacco industry can agree with: that the FDA did not take into consideration all the costs associated with the regulations and the FDA overreached the intent of Congress by failing to provide enough reasons for why cigars needed to be regulated and how they are a threat to public health. States in particular have something to lose in this battle in the way of state excise taxes raised by the sell of cigars. These excise taxes are used by the states in various ways, including funding anti-tobacco campaigns.
