Encouraging news . . . for now . . .

[Rob G]

The premium cigar industry is making yet another attempt to seek relief from FDA regulation by means of legislation. Earlier today, the House Appropriations Committee voted to include language in the Agriculture and Rural Development Appropriations Bill that, if passed in its current form, would exempt premium cigars from the FDA’s Final Deeming Rule.

The additional provision was introduced by Reps. Tom Cole (R-OK) and Sanford Bishop (D-NY), and was approved by a vote of 29 to 20. The premium exemption language is nearly identical to a rider that was added to last year’s fiscal budget, but was not included in the final version.

Nonetheless, cigar industry advocates are optimistic about the provision added to the 2019 budget. A joint statement released today by the three leading cigar industry lobbying organizations—the Cigar Association of America, International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers association and the Cigar Rights of America—said the inclusion was “proof positive these concerns are not only heard, but validated.”

Specifically, the additional provision would prohibit the FDA from using any of its appropriations in the 2019 budget to “implement, administer, or enforce” any of the agency’s proposed regulations on “large cigars.”

According to the bill, the definition of large cigars includes, “any roll of tobacco that is wrapped in 100 percent leaf tobacco, is bunched with 100 percent tobacco filler, contains no filter, tip, or non-tobacco mouthpiece, weighs at least 6 pounds per 1,000 count.” Additional stipulations require the product:

has a 100 percent leaf tobacco binder and is hand rolled;
has a 100 percent leaf tobacco binder and is made using human hands to lay the leaf tobacco wrapper or binder onto only one machine that bunches, wraps, and caps each individual cigar; or
has a homogenized tobacco leaf binder and is made in the United States using human hands to lay each 100 percent leaf tobacco wrapper individually onto a single machine that bunches, wraps, and caps each individual cigar on such single machine and makes no more than 15 cigars per minute; and
is not a cigarette or a little cigar.

The rider also includes language that changes the predicate date, or the date in which the FDA’s regulations would retroactively apply to new and existing products, from February 15, 2007 to April 25, 2014. This differs from the failed provision adopted in last year’s budget proposal, which sought to amend the predicate date to August 8, 2016.

LINK

[Briandg]

i approve of the ideas and some of the specifications, but it won't relieve anyone but us. The AyC or GyV smokers are still shanked. The mass market genuine leaf cigars are no different from hand made chopped filler fumas, other than there are hundreds, maybe thousands of times more "cigars" sold off of machines, and if we are buying a corona, I feel that the machine rolled corona and hand rolled should get something like equitable coverage.

Tiny cigarillos cost as much as a corona in some cases. A monte habanito is as big as a match and costs over a buck, so does a blunt. There has to be a way to get the tiparillo, blunt, grape flavored products set into another category from the real products.

[Rob G]

I agree, it's not perfect, but it's better than nothing.

I've accepted the reality that in the not too distant future tobacco of any kind will either be priced out of the market, or will have so many regulations that it's impossible to turn a profit. Oddly, marijuana will be readily available in all 50 states for both medicinal and recreational use.

[BigO]

There's always smuggling. An American thing before there was an America.

[Rob G]

Originally Posted by BigO

There's always smuggling. An American thing before there was an America.

True. Alcohol was illegal during prohibition, so people made moonshine. Pot's been illegal almost everywhere until recently, but it's been readily available.

But cigars, at least high quality cigars, will be hard to come by if they are priced out of existence.

[TommyBB]

We'll have to clamp down, if we're still here, on discussing "sources."

[Briandg]

Originally Posted by Rob G

I agree, it's not perfect, but it's better than nothing.

I've accepted the reality that in the not too distant future tobacco of any kind will either be priced out of the market, or will have so many regulations that it's impossible to turn a profit. Oddly, marijuana will be readily available in all 50 states for both medicinal and recreational use.

you are right on track with the nefarious plans of the illuminati. Remove the tobacco that gives us peace and give us the drugs that give us numbness.

I just smoked a mister B candela this afternoon. I probably bought it for less than $1, they are selling for $1.50 now. Similar machine made cigars with composition binders and natural wrapper leaf are running maybe a quarter less in price for similar sizes.

One of the cheapest handmades available has obviously doubled, maybe tripled since I started smoking. The machine made smokes that I started with have quadrupled. With this new possibility, Mister B will no longer be taxed at the same rate as dutch masters and the machine made short filler cigarwill go into a new phase. More expensive than better handmade cigars.

wonder if this will actually result in significantly lowered prices?

[N8DCJ]

Originally Posted by Briandg

you are right on track with the nefarious plans of the illuminati. Remove the tobacco that gives us peace and give us the drugs that give us numbness.

I just smoked a mister B candela this afternoon. I probably bought it for less than $1, they are selling for $1.50 now. Similar machine made cigars with composition binders and natural wrapper leaf are running maybe a quarter less in price for similar sizes.

One of the cheapest handmades available has obviously doubled, maybe tripled since I started smoking. The machine made smokes that I started with have quadrupled. With this new possibility, Mister B will no longer be taxed at the same rate as dutch masters and the machine made short filler cigarwill go into a new phase. More expensive than better handmade cigars.

wonder if this will actually result in significantly lowered prices?

Brian

out of curiosity , your everyday smokes are ?? and your once a week/month/year ??

Dan

[Briandg]

I don't really have an everyday smoke. I buy a box at a time when I find a sale item that sounds good. Up until this year, I have almost never bought a $2 cigar. There are always samplers that come up and you can get some special ones as part of the sampler.

As far as everyday smokes, I don't do short filler or machine made. They're difficult to smoke, can't keep them burning straight. Long filler only. I don't buy crap that is created just to use up tobacco, like the limited edition gurkhas. What I have on hand now are mostly villazon/hatsa products, for example, a lot of hoyo and connies. I have a lot of la finca and smoked two coronas over the past week. every month or so I have a special smoke, a romeo or H. Upmann that I have managed to acquire. I've had a lot of pretty good cigars donated over the years, and a lot of them went directly to the patio.

Last night i took a romeo star crossed to the patio, it's for an annniversary tradition.

So I smoke assorted yard gars most of the time. Today I may have another of the candela wrapped smokes from yesterday.