House Resolution Introduced to Exempt Premium Cigars from FDA Regulation

While the cigar industry awaits to see whether a federal appeals court will uphold a ruling that mostly prevents FDA from regulating “premium cigars,” a new resolution has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would remove FDA’s authority from regulating premium cigars entirely.

Cigar Rights of America (CRA), one of the three cigar trade groups that successfully sued the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, worked with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., to introduce the new joint resolution. H.J.Res. 99 would provide a definition of premium cigars, and state that the term “tobacco product” does not mean a premium cigar. To qualify as a premium cigar, a tobacco product must meet the following requirements:

1. is wrapped in whole tobacco leaf;
2. contains a 100 percent leaf tobacco binder;
3. contains at least 50 percent (of the filler by weight) long filler tobacco (i.e., whole tobacco leaves that run the length of the cigar);
4. is handmade or hand rolled (i.e., no machinery was used apart from simple tools, such as scissors to cut the tobacco prior to rolling);
5. has no filter, nontobacco tip, or nontobacco mouthpiece;
6. does not have a characterizing flavor other than tobacco;
7. contains only tobacco, water, and vegetable gum with no other ingredients or additives;
8. and weighs more than 6 pounds per 1,000 units.

In addition to using the definition established in Cigar Association of America et al. v. United States Food and Drug Administration et al., the aforementioned lawsuit, the joint resolution also quotes many of the findings of the 2022 NASEM report on premium cigars.

The resolution has already gained 10 co-sponsors hailing from both parties and from across the country:

• Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev.
• Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas
• Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev.
• Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.
• Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.
• Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.
• Rep. Nicholas Langworthy, R-N.Y.
• Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev.
• Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill.
• Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif.

The resolution has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where it awaits further action. If passed, the change would mean that the FDA would have no jurisdiction over premium cigars, and accordingly, premium cigars would be exempt from all aspects of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gave FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products, including cigars. This would mean that Congress would take back its authority over cigar regulation.

While this resolution would seemingly have little chance of passing as a standalone bill, cigar trade groups and advocates have long argued that bills like this are helpful so that the industry can engage with members of Congress about premium cigar regulation.

Currently, cigars that meet the definition of “premium cigar” are not subject to FDA’s 2016 deeming regulations due to the decision in Cigar Association of America. The Department of Justice, which represents FDA in legal matters, has appealed that decision.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.