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TOBACCO BUSINESS
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
regulations should reflect the
differences in our products—that
all products shouldn’t be treated as
the same.The FDA has asked us for
clarification on some of the points we
provided, and we reiterated our ‘all or
nothing’ belief.”
Meanwhile, from the opposite
standpoint, the International Premium
Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association
(IPCPR) and Cigar Rights of
America (CRA) sent a letter in early
December to the OMB to argue
against impending regulation of cigars
by the FDA, knowing that the OMB
is currently evaluating rules proposed
by the FDA.
The nine-page letter makes the
case that there is “no public health
basis to conclude that premium cigars
should be regulated by FDA under
the Tobacco Control Act.” It states
that there is no legal basis for such
regulation because there is no evidence
that premium cigars are addictive
or used by young
people.
The letter notes that
the Tobacco Control Act gives the
Food and Drug Administration
“the authority to address issues of
particular concern to public health
officials, especially the use of tobacco
by young people and dependence on
tobacco,” and also should “continue to
permit the sale of tobacco products to
adults in conjunction with measures to
ensure they are not sold or accessible
to underage purchasers.”
It also uses scientific research, some
from the National Cancer Institute, to
demonstrate that handmade cigars are
not addictive when used properly.
The letter makes the case that if
the FDA and OMB apply the law in
a scientific manner, the FDA should
not create any new regulations for
handmade
cigars.
Furthermore,
should the FDA attempt to regulate
handmade cigars, the arguments in
the letter are likely to be the same
arguments in any legal challenges to
FDA regulation. It is signed by Finnie
P. Helmuth, president of IPCPR, and
Glynn Loope, executive director of
CRA.
Bracing for changE
But the CAA and manufacturers like
Swisher are bracing for change in the
form of deeming regulations.The CAA’s
Williamson made it a point to mention
“we were the first in and the last out”
to visit with the government when
it was asking for industry comment
on its proposed rules, now with the
OMB. He is expecting something back
in the first quarter of 2014. Swisher’s
Augustus agrees in saying, “I think
