Cigars may find exemption

A pair of bills in Congress may contain language that would allow manufacturers of premium cigars to claim they are exempt from FDA regulation. The bills, introduced by Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., would only exempt premium cigars from FDA regulation. In 2009 Congress gave the FDA the power to regulate all tobacco products. The FDA intends to exercise that power on not just cigarettes, but other products. The FDA is working on a proposed rule to regulate other tobacco categories, said FDA spokeswoman Jenny Haliski.

She declined to comment on the specifics of the regulations, when the rule would be released and whether premium tobacco would be included. If the FDA regulates cigars similarly to cigarettes, they could include higher taxes and more strict labeling requirements. Advocates of the bills say premium cigars aren’t like other tobacco products — they’re the heavier, higher-quality, more expensive brands that adults smoke occasionally, for pleasure or to celebrate a special occasion. The House version has more than 200 co-sponsors, while the Senate bill is backed by at least 10 senators.
 But opponents contend companies that make cheaper cigars and market to children could easily manipulate their products to qualify. The bills define a premium cigar as “any roll of tobacco that is wrapped in leaf tobacco, contains no filter, and weighs at least 6 pounds per 1,000 count.’’ Many cheaper cigars, like flavored Swisher cigarillos with colorful packaging that could appeal to teens, don’t have a filter and meet the weight requirement. Premium cigars are wrapped in a whole tobacco leaf., while the cheaper, Machine-made cigars are wrapped in paper that often is made from reconstituted tobacco leaf. Because the bill does not say “whole tobacco leaf,” Anti-tobacco activists argue that companies making cigars wrapped in a paper that is made from tobacco could claim exemption. Anyone familiar with cigars, though, knows that “leaf tobacco” means the same thing as whole tobacco leaf, said John Sullivan, manager of the JR Cigar store in Washington, D.C.