WASHINGTON -- As part of its “deeming” regulations announced early this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) included major decisions on cigars, namely the inclusion of premium cigars under its jurisdiction and a guidance suggesting an extension of the flavored-tobacco ban to include characterizing flavors in cigars.
Before the deeming regulations were announced, an initial proposed rule contained an option to exempt cigars from FDA regulation altogether. That did not happen.
“The FDA has concluded there is no appropriate public health justification for excluding premium cigars,” said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). “All cigars pose serious health risks. To exclude such a product from FDA regulation would be neglecting our duty to protect public health.”
The ruling came as no surprise to Leo Vercollone, president and owner of VERC Enterprises, Duxbury, Mass. “I see them including premium cigars because it is a tobacco product,” he said.
Zeller and others at the FDA were quick to point out that the 499-page final deeming rule is just the start of regulatory actions to come. The final rule included a guidance suggesting that the agency will soon look to extend the ban on flavored cigarettes to also include the use of characterizing flavors in cigars.
“This is just a foundational rule,” said David Ashley, director of the CTP’s Office of Science. “The vast majority of actions are still down the road.”
The FDA announced intentions to eliminate characterizing flavors for all cigars, including cigarillos and little cigars. The agency specifically cited the popularity of flavored cigars with youth, said Vivien Azer, analyst at the Cowen Group, New York. In a report published last week she said, “Among our covered companies, Altria [Richmond, Va.] and Imperial Tobacco [Bristol, United Kingdom] are the most exposed to the cigar market, though it represents a small portion of both companies’ portfolios.”
Altria holds a 26% share of the machine-made-cigar market, while Imperial’s machine-made-cigar brands include the Backwoods and Dutch Masters brands, she said. “What is more, the agency’s decision to ban modified risk descriptors such as ‘light,’ ‘low’ or ‘mild’ presents an issue for Altria’s Black & Mild brand, which represents nearly 100% of the company’s cigar volumes.”
Vercollone told CSP Daily News he takes issue with the banning of flavored cigars. “I think the possible banning of flavors of a legal product, in any form of tobacco product, is wrong,” he said. “Adult tobacco users should be able to choose a flavor, if that is what they desire.”
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