This past Friday February 15th, House Bill H.R. 792 was introduced to the House of Representatives called the “Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2013” was introduced by co-sponsors Bill Posey (Republican – Florida) and Kathy Castor (Democrat – Florida). This replaces bill H.R. 1639.
The reasoning for the new bill is for the new Congress. On the 2/16/13 episode of Kiss My Ash Radio, Cigar Rights of America Executive Director Glynn Loope said the definition of a premium cigar has been slightly tweaked. The original bill, H.R. 1639 achieved a working majority of co-sponsors in the House of Representatives this past summer. That bill was also introduced by Posey and Castor.
The goal of H.R. 792 is similar to H.R. 1639. In addition to defining premium cigars, the goal is to exempt them from FDA regulation. If FDA regulation is passes, there could be measures taken such as:
These impacts include:
- No more walk in humidors – just like in Canada
- Limits on advertising and promotions
- Banning the very word cigar or tobacco
- Manufacturers having to submit blends to FDA for “testing,” before heading to your local shop – imagine the impact on boutique cigar makers
- Adverse impact on flavored tobacco products
- And price impact due to new fees on manufacturers.
