Legislation Update: Hope Springs Eternal

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

New Cigars




PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Drucquers Banner

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

prairiedruid

Lifer
Jun 30, 2015
1,998
1,116
Proposed Legislation
Today, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to the FY 2019 Agriculture Appropriations Bill that would benefit cigars. Like past agriculture appropriations bills, it includes language that would both change the grandfather (predicate) for cigars and other tobacco products regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), as well as exempt premium cigars from FDA control.
What’s different, is this time the language is included as one provision instead of two separate amendments.
An agreement by the Cigar Association of America (CAA), Cigar Rights of America (CRA) and the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) was reached to try to create a single amendment in hopes that it survives in the Senate, something neither provision has been able to do.
The amendment would exempt cigars defined as “premium” from FDA regulations, as well as change the predicate date to Feb. 15, 2007 to April 25, 2014, the latter is the date by which FDA formally announced a draft of its deeming regulations. Previous efforts have tried to change the predicate date to Aug. 8, 2016, the date the deeming regulations went into effect.
We'll see what happens.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
Any idea what definition of "premium" they will be using? Most cigars I enjoy are hand rolled, but I don't know if they are considered "premium".

 
May 3, 2010
6,423
1,461
Las Vegas, NV
"Premium" was defined I believe based on dollar amount for cigars. I think they (the FDA) were going with $10/stick. Wanna say the cigar industry was fighting to get that lowered to $5 a stick.
Just my opinion, but ALL pipe tobacco is premium tobacco.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
It's a glimmer of hope. I never thought I'd think, good for the lobbyists.

 

jzbdano

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 7, 2016
244
564
I thought "Premium" defined hand rolled cigars. No love for grape Swishers.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Anything above bagged tobacco is premium. You might argue that pouch and tub tobacco aren't premium, but these days blends in both categories are competitive with tinned tobaccos and good bulk. So unless something is RYO appropriate, I'd say it was premium. No one with "a say" is listening to me, but that's my take.
Here's my anthropological angle: Communities go to great lengths to get retired people to socialize, and they hope to get earlier generations to mingle as well. Correct. It's called a pipe shop.

 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
11,582
15,252
SE PA USA
I’ve been hearing whispered rumors ever since the garage door hit me on the head back in 1968. They’ve offered me medication for it, but frankly, I like the company.

 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
Present head of the FDA is a Trump appointee, what I hear from a staffer for my Congressman is that the FDA has made all the changes they will make to the regulatory structure, up to the Courts and Congress now.

 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,603
14,669
I’ve been hearing whispered rumors ever since the garage door hit me on the head back in 1968.
Statistical studies show trauma-induced rumors to be 27% more accurate than pathological rumors.

 

btp79

Can't Leave
Jan 27, 2018
436
711
Sugar Land, TX
Forgive my ignorance, but how does exempting premium cigars benefit pipe tobacco? I'm not in the legal field, but I don't see any verbiage that links the two types of tobacco. Can someone with more knowledge spell it out for me?
Thank you,
Billy

 
Forgive my ignorance, but how does exempting premium cigars benefit pipe tobacco? I'm not in the legal field, but I don't see any verbiage that links the two types of tobacco. Can someone with more knowledge spell it out for me?

It doesn't, but since cigars are way more expensive, and the cigar industry actually uses classy reps and lobbyists, they get more done for themselves. Meanwhile pipesmokers just bitch about the price of a $20 tin of tobacco at their B&M, whine about an online retailer sending them a dented $8 tin, and yell at kids walking through their yards.

 

prairiedruid

Lifer
Jun 30, 2015
1,998
1,116
it includes language that would both change the grandfather (predicate) for cigars and other tobacco products regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA),
as well as change the predicate date to Feb. 15, 2007 to April 25, 2014, the latter is the date by which FDA formally announced a draft of its deeming regulations
Changing the predicate date would mean more blends would survive the FDA deeming axe.

 
May 8, 2017
1,593
1,627
Sugar Grove, IL, USA
The main reason that cigars could be exempted and not pipe tobacco is RYO cigarette smokers who shifted to "pipe tobacco" after the new tax laws went into effect in 2007 or thereabouts. RYO devotees don't buy cigars to make cigarettes, but they account for 85+% of tobacco sold as "pipe tobacco". According to FDA statistics, after the tax law went into effect, pipe tobacco sales skyrocketed by over 600%. Now they're trying to close the loophole, unfortunately at our expense. There's no easy way to distinguish pipe tobacco from cigarette tobacco. I don't see an obvious solution, unfortunately.

 

jaytex1969

Lifer
Jun 6, 2017
9,517
50,591
Here
cosmic-600x293.png

jay-roger.jpg


 
Status
Not open for further replies.