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the decision to treat retailers who blend
different pipe tobaccos in their stores as
manufacturers, the decision to consider
pipes a regulated tobacco product rather
than an accessory, and certain restric-
tions on sampling. Big picture challenges
are also a big part of the suit, which ar-
gues that the “user fees” it will impose are
really a tax, explains Schaevitz.
“Every other state and federal agency
that assesses user fees on federally regu-
lated companies gives those companies
some benefit,” he explained. “When drug
companies want to bring a new product
to market, FDA does testing and assesses
a user fee in order to do all that work. In
our case we are simply paying a user fee
for a benefit of being regulated.”
In addition to the lawsuit, the industry
is also seeking legislative relief through
two bills currently in the House and
Senate, explained Kip Talley, senior di-
rector of federal legislative affairs for the
IPCPR
,
who noted that the bills would
exempt premium cigars from the regula-
tion. They argue that the Tobacco Con-
trol Act that provides FDA with regu-
latory oversight of tobacco was set up to
combat the health effects from smoking
but that because cigars are used dif-
ferently than cigarettes in terms of fre-
quency and are not as appealing to mi-
nors, they should be regulated differently.
Both House Bill 662 and Senate Bill 792
would exempt premium cigars, which
are defined as cigars that are wrapped in
100-percent leaf tobacco, weigh at least
six pounds per 1,000 count and have no
filters or tips, from FDA oversight.
The legal process is not known for
speed and, because the case is complex
and any decision made is likely to be ap-
pealed, the industry will likely be coping
with uncertainty for quite some time,
warned Craig Cass, president of the
IPCPR board and owner of Charlotte,
North Carolina-based Tinder Box.
“We will adapt and we will be success-
ful,” he said. “We will be selling cigars
three years from now, five years from now
and 10 years from now. The rules will
change but we will be in the game.”
TBI
EVENT HIGHLIGHT
76
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016