Cigar Industry Files Restraining Order As California’s UTL Deadline Looms
We’re less than 24 hours away from California entering into a draconian era of regulating the sale of cigars. The state’s new “Unflavored Tobacco List” requires all cigarmakers to register and verify even traditional cigars as unflavored, with little time and at a steep financial cost, or the smokes will be banned for sale in California. Key members and organizations from the cigar industry have tried numerous forms of outreach with the state in recent weeks, including many requests for clarification as well as a request for a preliminary injunction, all of which the state has not responded to, according to industry sources. With tomorrow’s deadline quickly approaching, cigar industry plaintiffs filed an emergency Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) yesterday with hopes the courts will act before the October 9 deadline becomes official.
The latest development is spearheaded by the same group of cigar industry stakeholders who filed a lawsuit against Robert Andres Bonta, Attorney General of California, last Friday, that includes Ashton Distributors, Oliva Cigar, Padrón Cigars, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, La Flor Dominicana, Arturo Fuente, My Father Cigars, Cigar Rights of America (CRA) and the Premium Cigar Association (PCA).
The Temporary Restraining Order is requesting the official deadline be extended to December 1, and for the courts “to set a schedule for briefing a broader preliminary injunction.” In a press release regarding the Temporary Restraining Order, the CRA says “the motion argues that the state’s Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL) regulations are arbitrary, unworkable and impose impossible timelines for compliance.” Now, we wait to see if the courts agree.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Read Next: Belgium To Ban Smoking On Public Terraces And In Cigar Lounges
