House Small Business Questions FDA Regarding Proposed Flavored Tobacco Ban

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business sent a letter to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) asking the agency how its proposed ban on flavored cigars will affect small businesses.

A letter sent to Dr. Robert Califf, the commissioner of FDA, seeks information about the financial impacts that FDA’s proposed flavored cigar ban would have on the more than 115,000 retailers the agency estimates sell flavored cigars. Most of these questions seem to be more relevant to businesses selling mass-market flavored cigars than larger flavored cigars—the letter raises questions about food deserts—but the responses would apply to all businesses that sell flavored cigars. The letter requests that Califf responds by July 12.

The questions asked are as follows:

1. The analysis indicates that more than 115,000 small business retailers of flavored tobacco products will be impacted by the proposed rule.3 Please quantify the revenue loss that banning the products under the proposed rule would have on average small business retailers by category (such as convenience stores, grocery stores, pharmacies, tobacconists, etc.).
2. Given the revenue loss referenced in question 1, how many small businesses do you estimate will be forced to close because of the proposed rule?a. What is your estimate on reduced employment figures associated with these small business closures?
   b. What is your estimate on reduced employment figures for businesses that remain open but with reduced revenues?
3. Given that many of the small businesses projected to be impacted by the rule are sources of food and pharmaceuticals in local communities, what data can the FDA share about the effect that the proposed rule will have on “food deserts” and “pharmacy deserts”?
4. The preliminary analysis only details one alternative — a delayed effective date — to minimize the proposed rule’s burden on small businesses.4 What other alternatives has the FDA considered or analyzed?
5. Given the FDA’s expressed interest in the proposed rule’s impact on minority communities, what data can the FDA share regarding the effect on minority-owned small businesses? Please include data related to the impact on revenue, employment, and viability for these businesses.

The letter was signed by Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, who serves as the chairman of the committee, and Rep. Dan Meusuer, R-Pa., who serves as a member. Meusuer has been one of the cigar industry’s most vocal defenders in Congress and has, amongst other things, sent a letter to FDA asking about premium cigar regulations.

“The Center for Tobacco Products has neglected to answer several questions related to the overall impact of the proposed Characterizing Flavor Rule on Cigars and its scope,” said Joshua Habursky, deputy executive director for the Premium Cigar Association, in an email to halfwheel. “PCA commends the committee, Chairman Williams, and Representative Meuser for asserting the importance of this analysis as part of the rulemaking process and emphasizing the FDA’s need to properly calculate the impact on retail small businesses. We believe this analysis should lead to the withdrawal of this proposed rule.”

In March, Dr. Brian King, the director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, announced that FDA was planning on announcing finalized rules that would ban flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes this fall. Previously, the agency has said that it will not enforce compliance for at least one year, and it is widely expected that there will be lawsuits filed in response to these rules.

Update — The original version of this story indicated that there was no deadline to respond, it is July 12, 2023.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.