WARNING: DON’T Let the FDA Mess with our CIGARS!
The FDA took my baby away, they took her away, away from me – The Ramones?
Okay, that may not be exactly how the classic Ramones tune goes, but you have to understand that we lovers of the lavish leaf have a serious situation on our hands. There are people on Capitol Hill that want the Food & Drug Administration to permanently monitor and oversee the products created by the cigar industry. They would like our cigars, our babies, regulated the same way that cigarette tobacco is regulated, and if that does happen, the ramifications could and would be disastrous.
The following comes direct from the group, Cigar Rights of America: Whereas on April 26, 2010, December 20, 2010, and July 7, 2011 the U.S. Food & Drug Administration publicly posted their intent to regulate cigars in the Federal Register, it is incumbent upon the cigar enthusiasts of the United States to voice their opposition to any proposed new regulation of premium/traditional cigars by the United States Government.
So what does this mean for the cigar industry along with “We the People” who want the right to continue to enjoy the legal, handmade product that has already been over-taxed beyond reproach? Here are some of the “REAL” possibilities…
- Walk-in Humidors could become a thing of the past. In fact, you wouldn’t be allowed to see or touch any cigars as they would be hidden from sight, only available to choose from catalog sheets.
- The ornate artwork that has decorated boxes and bands for well over a century could be replaced by warning labels and grotesque images of diseased and autopsied body parts.
- The tobacco itself could be tested with restrictions put on blends, flavors, and nicotine strength.
- Boutique blends and companies could be no more.
- Advertising, special promotions, events, and email notifications might be completely disallowed.
- And the horrible possibility of mail ordering cigars could become extinct… yikes!
- And even worse, literally thousands and thousands of people could lose their jobs in the United States and throughout all of the tobacco producing nations.
- Oh yeah… the already painful taxes placed upon cigars could increase dramatically!
Okay my friends, followers, and lovers of premium aged tobacco, before you lose all faith and fall flat on your precious ashes, know that there are those in the government that are against this horrid tyranny, and YES there is something that is being done to help save cigars and the industry we love so dearly. Again, from the folks at Cigar Rights of America…
H.R. 1639 has been filed in the U.S. House of Representatives; and a companion bill, Senate Bill 1461, has been filed in the Senate. Both are filed under the banner of the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act. This bi-partisan legislation would decree that premium/traditional cigars should be off limits to FDA regulation and, ‘to clarify the Food & Drug Administration’s jurisdiction’ in the ’sale, manufacturing and distribution of traditional and premium cigars.’
So listen to me… I WANT YOU to do YOUR part and YES, it will help tremendously! Click the link below and let the political officials in YOUR region know that you support this bill and YOU want to protect an industry and a product that means so much to you… so much to all of us! It’ll take you a couple of minutes to do and it will definitely have an impact on saving your most beloved cigars… your babies.
CLICK HERE to Contact your Congressman NOW!
Thanks guys, let’s stick together and let the politicos know that they cannot take another one of our rights away!
Stay smoky my friends,
JR Cigars Blog with the Zman
