Today, Congressman Bill Posey (R-FL) re-introduced the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2017, at the request of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (“IPCPR”) and Cigar Rights of America (“CRA”). The legislation’s explicit purpose is to both define what constitutes a “premium cigar” and exempts the product category from regulations now in place under the FDA’s Final Rule. The bill is identical to its predecessor in the 114th Congress, H.R. 662, which had the support of 170 Members of the House of Representatives.
Congressmen Send Letter to Vice President Pence on Regulation of Premium Cigars
On behalf of the premium cigar industry as well as main street retailers and American consumers, Congressman Bill Posey (R-Florida), Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-California) and Congressman Lou Barletta (R-Pennsylvania) sent a letter to Vice President Pence urging the new administration to swiftly suspend enforcement of the FDA’s recently enacted deeming rule. The rule, which went into effect on August 8, 2016 has imposed harsh new regulations on premium cigar retailers, manufacturers and thousands of small businesses across the country. Despite the original congressional intent, the FDA’s imposition of regulations on premium cigars penalizes an industry where youth access to smoking is a non-issue.
Today President Trump announced Dr. Scott Gottlieb as his pick to lead the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Gottlieb has an impressive and extensive resume, with a wide-ranging background in both the private and public sectors and a M.D. from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. IPCPR welcomes the pick of Dr. Gottlieb and, If confirmed, we look forward to working with him as we continue to advocate for common-sense reforms to the recent FDA regulation needlessly harming the family owned small businesses retailers that make up IPCPR.
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The lawsuit filed jointly by IPCPR, CRA and CAA against the FDA will now be heard on August 30th, pushing the trial back from July 28th. The change was in response to the FDA’s original motion for a 60 day delay, in part to accommodate the transition from the Obama to Trump Administrations. The three trade associations agreed to the 30 day extension, however all three have made it clear to the federal government that any further delays would require extensions of pending compliance deadlines under the deeming rule.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Cigar Association of America, the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association and Cigar Rights of America filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and opening brief in the cigar industry's litigation challenging the FDA's Final Deeming Rule.
Yesterday Congressman Bill Posey (R-FL) testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture about the need for appropriations language exempting premium cigars from the FDA’s deeming rule. This testimony came during the Appropriations Committee’s annual members’ day. IPCPR applauds Congressman Posey and extends our thanks on behalf of premium cigar retailers and tobacconists across the country for his continued fight for premium cigars and individual liberty.
Today, United States District Court Judge, Amit Mehta, deemed that the the warning label requirements for premium cigars imposed by the FDA are illegal. Mehta threw out the warning requirements for premium cigars with the reasoning because the FDA did not properly analyze the different usage patterns between premium cigars.
EASTON, PA--(Marketwired - March 30, 2017) - Famous Smoke Shop, the leading online distributor of discounted premium cigars, has debuted their new interactive Cigar Smokers' Rights Hub. Crafted in response to the US Food & Drug Administration's 2016 Final Deeming Rule regarding premium cigars and other tobacco products, the Famous Smoke guide presents cigar enthusiasts with a history of legal actions affecting the tobacco industry. The Smokers' Rights Hub also offers cigar smokers a detailed understanding of how FDA's new regulations will negatively impact the premium cigar industry, and the legal challenges that have been mounted against the agency's sweeping new rules.