At a June 20th, 2017 Senate Appropriations Committee to discuss the 2018 Fiscal Year Budget for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Senator Marco Rubio brought up the Deeming Rule and the current impacts on the premium cigar market. Senator Rubio asked FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb if there were any plans to re-evaluate the inclusion of […]
Cigar News: FDA Releases Revised Compliance Deadline Schedule
William Cooper Cigar News No Comments FDA, News
Last week came word that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will extend and defer enforcement of all future compliance deadlines under the Rule for cigar and pipe tobacco products for three months (90 days). Yesterday, the FDA published a guidance document containing the revised compliance dates. The new timetable applies to compliance deadlines […]
Cigar News: Dr. Scott Gottlieb Confirmed as FDA Commissioner
William Cooper Cigar News 3 Comments FDA, News, People
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a new Commissioner in Dr. Scott Gottlieb. Today Gottlieb was confirmed by the United States Senate in a vote of 57 -42. Gottlieb, a physician and former Deputy Commissioner at the FDA was nominated by President Donald Trump back in March. Late last month, he was approved […]
Cigar News: Timetable for FDA Regulations Delayed by 90 Days
William Cooper Cigar News 1 Comment CAA, CRA, FDA, IPCPR, News
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will extend and defer enforcement of all future compliance deadlines under the Rule for cigar and pipe tobacco products for three months (90 days). The decision stems from the joint cigar industry’s lawsuit against the FDA. Last month, the court date for the lawsuit was pushed back 30 days.. […]
Cigar News: Gottlieb Nomination Clears Senate Committee; Heads to Full Vote
William Cooper Cigar News No Comments FDA, News, People
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the nominee by President Trump for U.S. Food and Drug Administraton (FDA) Commissioner was approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee by a vote of 14-9. Gottlieb’s nomination now heads to a full vote in the United States Senate. Gottlieb’s nomination has been hailed by the premium cigar industry. He […]
Cigar News: Five Altadis Products Receive Grandfather Status
William Cooper Cigar News No Comments Altadis, Don Mateo, FDA, H. Upmann, Montecristo, News, Romeo y Julieta, Saint Luis Rey
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has begun to issue determinations on select premium cigars on whether they meet the criteria to be grandfathered from requiring the agency’s approval for marketing. This month five products made by Altadis USA have been determined to be grandfathered as being reported from the FDA Database. These are among the first […]
Cigar News: Ortega REO and VIBE Receive Grandfather Status
William Cooper Cigar News No Comments FDA, News, Ortega
H. New Media Law and Ortega Premium Cigars have announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently issued eight Determination of Grandfather Status letters for Ortega Premium Cigar’s brands REO (4 sizes) and VIBE (4 sizes). According to Frank Herrera of H New Media Law, these were among the first premium cigar brands to […]
Cigar News: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Calls on Trump Administration and Congress to Support FDA Deeming Rule
William Cooper Cigar News No Comments FDA, News
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has called on Congress and President Trump to reject the attempted efforts of the tobacco industry to roll back the Deeming regulations for premium cigars and e-cigarettes. The organization said the Trump Administration “must continue to vigorously defend the FDA’s authority” and “should side with America’s kids, not the tobacco […]
Feature Story: What Rudy Giuliani’s Keynote Address at the 2017 IPCPR Convention Means to the Cigar Industry
William Cooper Feature Story No Comments FDA, Feature Story, People
Last December, I penned an article entitled “The Myth of Rudy Giuliani Saving the Cigar Industry“. In my 6 1/2 years of owning and operating Cigar Coop, it easily was the most controversial article I wrote. Shortly after the 2016 Presidential Election, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was being anointed by some as “the […]
Cigar News: Cigar Industry Lawsuit Court Date Pushed Back to End of August
William Cooper Cigar News No Comments CAA, CRA, FDA, IPCPR, News
The court date for the lawsuit filed by the cigar industry’s trade associations against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been pushed back to August 30, 2017. The lawsuit challenges the Deeming Regulations implemented by the FDA on the premium cigar industry. Originally, opening arguments in the lawsuit were set to begin on July […]