Cigar Industry Petitions for SE Delay

The Premium Cigar Association and the Cigar Rights of America filed a petition to extend the May 12 deadline for Substantial Equivalence reports with Alex Azar, secretary of Health and Human Services, and Stephen Hahn, the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) commissioner. 

Azar and Hahn both have the power to stay regulatory deadlines during a public health emergency.

“These Substantial Equivalence reports are required to continue to sell the thousands of premium cigars introduced to the market between Feb. 15, 2007, and Aug. 8, 2016, and each report requires time, considerable cost and effort,” said the Premium Cigar Association.

A Maryland judge declined to extend the Substantial Equivalence deadline to 2021 last July.