Attempt to redeem cigars

Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives recently reintroduced a version of a bill that would pull premium cigars out from under the Food and Drug Administration’s deeming rules, easing potential restrictions on new product development, according to a story by Angel Abcede for Convenience Store/Petroleum magazine.

Quoting the Washington DC-based International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers’ Association (IPCPR), Abcede said that, earlier this month, Florida’s Republican Representative, Bill Posey, had reintroduced the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act.

The legislation’s purpose was both to define what constituted a ‘premium cigar’ and exempt the product category from regulations now in place under the FDA’s final rule, the IPCPR said.

The bill is said to be identical to its predecessor, which had the support of 170 members of the House.

As in the case of the previous bill, Florida’s Democratic Representative, Kathy Castor, is serving as the primary Democrat co-sponsor of the legislation.