As the cigar industry awaits FDA’s new guidelines for the regulation of the products they make, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wants to put a timeline on that announcement being made.

Yesterday, Blumenthal announced his intention to get FDA to finalize its deeming regulations on premium cigars, e-cigarettes and all unregulated tobacco products by the end of summer. If that doesn’t happen, Blumenthal said that he will introduce legislation to force the issue.

The comments came during an event hosted by the American Association for Cancer Research and were reported by The HillThe senator has not yet posted his comments or a statement about the matter on his website or social media channels.

There is speculation that FDA might want to wait to make the announcement until a new commissioner can be appointed. Dr. Margaret Hamburg stepped down as commissioner in March 2015, with Dr. Stephen Ostroff, FDA’s Chief Scientist, named Acting Commissioner until a new commissioner is nominated and approved.

Avatar photo

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 MLB.com, 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.