36 TOBACCO BUSINESS | MARCH / APRIL | 22 I accepted the position of president of the Cigar Association of America (CAA) because I saw an industry that is deeply committed to both its craft as well as the responsible marketing and use of cigars by adult consumers. If I saw otherwise, I would not have made the move. In the 22 years that I worked for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, my colleagues and I achieved dramatic changes in the laws that govern the sale and distribution of distilled spirits to adult consumers. We did so while continuing efforts to reduce youth usage of alcohol. Many of the laws that were changed dated back to Prohibition; even within the liquor industry, some saw the laws governing the sale of spirits as being set in stone and thought changing these laws was unlikely. We persevered, however, and changed the way distilled spirits are sold and marketed across the country. In the earlyyears,we focusedsimplyonallowingdistilled spirits to be sold on Sundays. In addition, although no law prevented it, we worked on getting television to accept liquor advertising. Further, we worked to pass laws that increased the number of liquor stores that were permitted in many states and amended laws to allow marketing for spirits in line with what was already allowed for beer and wine. A main reason the spirits industry was able to achieve positive change was because legislators were convinced that we were marketing and selling our products in a responsible manner. We worked with interested parties to address concerns over the illegal or irresponsible sale and use of spirits—and to show that the spirits industry is indeed committed to being a responsible actor. The challenge was that up until the early 2000s, no one knew about the industry’s effort; they only knew of an industry from many decades ago. This changed when the industry decided that years of stagnant growth had to be addressed. By championing its own responsible actions and relying on facts and data, the spirits industry was able to reverse the trend by working with lawmakers, regulators and others around the country to ease restrictions on sales and marketing. This leads to the question, “Who speaks up for an industry, if not itself?” As I stated in the beginning, cigar manufacturers and retailers have a very strong record of responsible sales and marketing. Restrictive liquor laws have been relaxed across the country. More importantly, cannabis has enjoyed a more than 20-year history of first being decriminalized, then being made legal for medical purposes, and, finally, 18 states now allow the recreational use of marijuana. Federal legislation is likely in the next few years. This is for products that have youth usage rates much higher than that for cigars. Laws relating to cannabis and alcohol, two products that induce intoxication, are being amended to make these products easier to buy and use. At the same time, the right to purchase and enjoy a good cigar is perpetually under attack. Whether it is the labyrinth of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) premarket tobacco product application review process, the agency’s announced intention to issue a proposed product standard to ban characterizing flavors in cigars, the continued state and local proposed flavor bans, the proposed tax increases or the restrictions on licenses, the cigar industry faces a challenging environment across the country. With regard to alcohol and cannabis, society has decided that adults should be allowed to be … adults. While some will seek to deny adults their personal autonomy by restricting what products they can enjoy, the overall public sentiment is that well-informed adults should be allowed to have the occasional enjoyment of their choice. CAA will work to ensure that the men and women who enjoy a good cigar will continue to be allowed to do so. TB I LEG I SLAT I ON : C I GAR ASSOC I AT I ON OF AMER I CA A RESPONSIBLE INDUSTRY SELLING TO RESPONSIBLE ADULTS David Ozgo, President, Cigar Association of America — Contributed by David Ozgo, president of the Cigar Association of America. Ozgo previously served as senior vice president and chief economist at the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a position he held for over 20 years.
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