EASTON, Pa. -- As many retailers can guess, not all cigar brands and products will survive the FDA’s new “deeming” regulations, but the rules also say that products sold before Feb. 15, 2007, achieved a grandfathered status and will most likely survive the new mandates.
Online cigar magazine, Cigar Advisor, Easton, Pa., published a report detailing the complexity of which cigar brands and products are being grandfathered in and highlighting 10 of those premium brands.
“All it took for [the FDA] to include cigars under these new rules was to say it ‘reserved the right’ to do so, which it did with the deeming rule on May 5 of this year,” said John Pullo, managing editor of Cigar Advisor. “And in doing so, created a new class of cigar: grandfathered cigars.”
Pullo is referring to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s predicate date of Feb. 15, 2007. Per the FDA, any premium cigar that was introduced to the cigar-smoking public for sale after that date will be required to test for substantial equivalence, or SE, before 2018 if it is to remain on the market for sale. Cigars that were commercially available before that date will be grandfathered and subject only to a handful of regulations, including new mandated packaging restrictions and reporting requirements.
The following grandfathered-in cigars were highlighted by the Cigar Advisor report:
- Acid Blondie
- Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature
- La Gloria Cubana Serie R No. 6
- Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real No. 2
- Montecristo White Churchill
- Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente
- Padron 1964 Anniversary Maduro Exclusivo
- Oliva Serie O Torpedo
- Rocky Patel American Market Selection Robusto
- Cao CX2 Toro
“There are hundreds of grandfathered cigars from which to choose,” Pullo said. “But these 10 are legends for a reason, with clear staying power."
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