New House Proposal Aims To Exempt Premium Cigars From FDA Regulations
It looks like the cigar industry has another advocate in the House. A new proposal to exempt the premium cigar industry from FDA regulation was introduced in the House of Representatives last month by Rep. Byron Donalds of South Florida. If passed, H.J. Res. 99 would not only differentiate premium cigars from general tobacco products, but also establish criteria to define premium cigars and ultimately free up the premium cigar industry from “certain” FDA regulations.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration was granted authority to regulate the premium cigar business in 2016. In response, the industry has been embroiled in a legal battle against the FDA seeking exemption ever since. The current lawsuit, known as Cigar Association of America et al, v. the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is under appeal after Judge Amit Mehta ruled in favor of the cigar industry earlier this year in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Rep. Donalds’ new proposal for exemption, which cites the findings of a 2022 study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), points out that “premium cigars are used virtually exclusively by adults, premium cigar use is extremely limited and premium cigar use poses less physical risk than the use of other tobacco products.”
Under the joint resolution, a cigar must meet the following guidelines to be classified as “premium” in order to qualify for exemption:
- wrapped in whole tobacco leaf
- contain a 100 percent leaf tobacco binder
- contains at least 50 percent (of the filler by weight) long filler tobacco (whole tobacco leaves that run the length of the cigar)
- is handmade or hand rolled, meaning no machinery was used apart from simple tools, such as scissors to cut the tobacco prior to rolling
- has no filter, non-tobacco tip, or non-tobacco mouthpiece
- does not have a characterizing flavor other than tobacco
- contains only tobacco, water, and vegetable gum with no other ingredients or additives
- weighs more than six pounds per 1,000 units
“I am proud to introduce this bipartisan bill that shields the premium cigar industry from overburdensome regulations from the FDA that will unnecessarily cause my community and several others economic hardships,” Donalds said in an official press release.
“We commend Representative Donalds for his leadership in bringing this issue to the Congress,” says Rocky Patel, owner or Rocky Patel Premium Cigars. “This bill fundamentally saves American jobs and preserves small businesses.”
Currently, the joint resolution has 10 co-sponsors and bipartisan support—half are Democrat, the other half, Republican. Whether or not the proposal picks up any momentum remains to be seen. Like a standard bill, the joint resolution must then pass the house, and then the Senate before it ends up on the president’s desk, who will either sign the resolution into law or veto it altogether.
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