Fight Back Against FDA Prohibitions

We are less than a month away from the comment period closing (pending any extensions, which were requested) on July 5th for the Tobacco Products Standards Proposed Rule on Flavored Cigars. Retailers and consumers can fight back by visiting fightflavorbans.com. A grassroots action feature is available for both retailers and consumers to contact the Food & Drug Administration to stop the ban on flavored products and raise concerns about the justifications for this drastic action.

The FDA is also hosting two listening sessions on the rule on June 13th and June 15th. To listen in or request to provide remarks at the session you can register here:

June 13th

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/listening-sessions-fdas-recently-proposed-tobacco-product-standards-registration-341406826007

June 15th

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/listening-sessions-fdas-recently-proposed-tobacco-product-standards-registration-344737096937

If you intend to provide an oral comment at either of these sessions please contact so the PCA government affairs team can provide you with preparation materials and additional information.

We have also prepared the postcard below as an additional resource for retailers to utilize at the point of sale or for you to print out and distribute to customers and the community to take action! The process takes less than a minute to complete and a chorus of voices opposing this action is necessary.

Swisher thinks so. However, an appeals court denied Swisher’s request for an injunction against such action by the FDA.

To keep our California Association of Retail Tobacconists (C.A.R.T.) members and all retail tobacconists up to date on current efforts to further regulate our industry, we bring to you a recent development in the Swisher vs. U.S. Food & Drug Administration Injunction Request case.

Please keep in mind the enforcement deadlines in this case currently do not apply to most cigars sold in humidors. Because of a Washington D.C. court’s orders, cigars that are “premium cigars” are currently not subject to the premarket approval requirements that are mentioned below. In this case, the definition used for “premium cigars” would apply to most cigars found in a humidor with notable exceptions being cigars that are flavored or machine-made.

The November election isn’t that far away, and with it comes a referendum on the 2020 law, SB 793, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that bans the sale of flavored tobacco products in the state.

Photos by Tom Horak