Premier Manufacturing Inc., Chesterfield, Mo., featured a new-to-the-U.S. line—Belmore premium, hand-rolled cigars—among other products.
The FDA has been developing its stance on premium cigars over time, with the most recent steps involving flavors in cigars. This past fall, the agency issued its Fall 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which includes actions the agency plans to consider taking in the next 12 months, according to Lakeville, Minn.-based tobacco retailer association NATO. In the agenda, the FDA has published regulatory identification number 0910-AI28, which would propose a new tobacco product standard for characterizing flavors in cigars.
NATO said the FDA has congressional authority to limit or ban an ingredient or constituent in a tobacco product or tobacco smoke, an authority that encompasses flavors.