CigarCyclopedia.com: Authoritative Daily Coverage of Cigars, Accessories, Issues and People.

FDA COULD CONTROL HOW CIGARS ARE MADE

Page 2 of 2

And, of course, smokers will have to pay for all of the regulatory apparatus set up under the bill. Manufacturers and importers of large cigars would be charged 7.15 percent of the annual bill for the FDA's costs, set at $85 million for the first year, $175 million for the second year and an increase annually based on the rate of inflation. For cigars, that's $6.08 million in year one, $12.51 million in year two and it goes up from there.

And perhaps the most miserable provision of all is in sec. 906(d)(1):

The Secretary may by regulation require restrictions on the sale and distribution of a tobacco product, including restrictions on the access to, and the advertising and promotion of, the tobacco product, if the Secretary determines that such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. The Secretary may by regulation impose restrictions on the advertising and promotion of a tobacco product consistent with and to full extent permitted by the first amendment to the Constitution. The finding as to whether such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health shall be determined with respect to the risks and benefits to the population as a whole, including users and non-users of the tobacco product, and taking into account -

(A) the increased or decreased likelihood that existing users of tobacco products will stop using such products; and

(B) the increased or decreased likelihood that those who do not use tobacco products will start using such products.

The bill does contain a provision stating that the FDA cannot ban the sale of tobacco products or require that nicotine content be reduced to zero; only Congress can do that. But an activist FDA could turn the cigar industry on its head with a rigorous application of the powers that would be given to it under the proposed bill.

And you can forget about small, family-run cigar operations like those operating in storefronts all over the Ybor City section of Tampa, Florida. They'll be a thing of the past, or end up operating out of back rooms to escape the onerous filing requirements of the bill.

From the cigar perspective, it's a truly horrible bill and a perfect counterpart to the equally-dangerous SCHIP funding concept that would effectively raise Federal cigar taxes from less than five cents per cigar now to $1 each.

So who's behind this monstrosity? In the Senate, Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts has been the leader of the movement and had 53 co-sponsors, including current Presidential candidates Barack Obama (Illinois), Hillary Clinton (New York) and Arizona Republican John McCain. Remember that when it comes time for voting in your local primary.

Of course, a strong lobbying effort as has been done with the SCHIP bill could result in having the provisions of S. 625 changed. In the simplest terms, the bill could be applied to cigarettes, which are the overwhelmingly dominant form of tobacco product consumed nationally. Or cigars, already specifically defined by the U.S. government, could be exempted. But that would make sense and who in Washington wants that?

The Bush Administration has been strongly against this bill as it has been against the SCHIP legislation and any bill passed by the current Congress is unlikely to be signed. But when a new President takes office in 2009, things could be different. And much worse.

Writer's Strike impacts C.A.O.’s Golden Globe plans:
The strike by members of the Writers Guild of America that has slowed motion picture and film production to a crawl nationwide even has an impact in the cigar world.

C.A.O. was rarin' to go as a participant in the HBO Luxury Lounge for the Golden Globe Awards that were to take place this Sunday, January 13. It's an annual amenity offered to the network's high-profile talent – producers, directors, actors and others – to get a token of thanks at the time when HBO is annually loaded down with awards from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

This year's Luxury Lounge event was slated for the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills today and tomorrow but when the Golden Globe Awards show itself was canceled because few (if any) of the nominees would cross WGA picket lines at the event, HBO released the companies committed to sponsoring its Luxury Lounge from the event. That includes C.A.O., which was ready to ply HBO's guests with C.A.O. Vision and C.A.O. The Sopranos Edition cigars and merchandise.
~ Rich Perelman

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Cigar Humidors and Cigar Accessories at Humidor Vault! Your online cigar humidor source, with rock-bottom pricing and fantastic customer support!

Like sports? Get news and commentary you won’t see in your morning newspaper at TheSportsExaminer.com! Join the examination!

A limited amount of classified advertising is available in this space on a weekly basis. For details, call Pat Harris at (213) 365-7965 or inquire by email by clicking here.

Have an opinion? You can send it using the "Comment" button below!

Don’t forget to register for our drawing for free cigars and accessories! Just click on the "Register & Win" button above; enter today!

Looking for a cigar party? Take a look at our exclusive list of hundreds of cigar events across the country, listed by state and date, only on CigarCyclopedia.com!

Bookmark

Email This

Comments (1) add comment

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Bennett Katz said:

	Love your new "news" format. Always a great site, but even better now. Please keep up your efforts to protect our right to enjoy cigars!
	report abuse vote down vote up