PCA Launches Microsite for Comments on FDA’s Proposed Flavored Cigar Ban

The Premium Cigar Association (PCA) has launched a webpage that is designed to make it easy for people to send comments to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in opposition of the agency’s proposed ban on flavored cigars.

In April, FDA announced plans to ban all flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes. Because of rules regarding regulations by executive agencies, FDA must allow for individuals, organizations and businesses to comment on the proposed rules during a formalized comment period, which runs May 4-July 5, 2022. Afterwards, the agency will respond to the comments, though it is not required to respond to each and every comment.

The PCA has launched fightflavorbans.com to help make it easier for people to submit comments. The site has a simple contact form that has a pre-populated message—written from the perspective of a cigar retailer—that will be submitted to FDA.

According to the organization, 93 percent of its retailers sell flavored cigars.

The prewritten letter is as follows:

Say “No” to a Ban on Flavored Cigars!

As a retail small business owner and tobacconist, I write to raise concerns about the product standards on flavored cigars which is a de facto prohibition of these products. This rule as currently proposed is concerning for a variety of reasons including but not limited to: negative impact on small business retailers, unjustified action based on current public health data, and lack of clarity on what constitutes a “characterizing descriptor.”

Yesterday, the Cigar Association of America—another cigar trade organization—launched a similar website.