I’m not sure I could have picked a better question. In May, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced its finalized version of the deeming regulations, a new set of rules that would regulate a variety of tobacco products including cigars. (For more information about FDA’s regulation of premium cigars, please visit halfwheel.com/fda) As part of the new regulations cigars will have to go through an approval process, which can be summarized into three date-specific categories. Feb. 15, 2007 — Any cigar that was on the market as of Feb. 15, 2007, the day Congress introduced legislation that would give FDA the authority to regulate cigars, is grandfathered. Companies will have to inform FDA which brands they believe meet the grandfather provision and my be required to submit documentation to FDA proving they meet the Feb. 15, 2007 grandfather date, but the cigars will not have to be submitted for FDA approval, meaning they won’t be subject to testing. Note: Any cigar that has not continued to be sold or had undergone packaging or blending changes could lose its grandfather status and have to apply under substantial equivalence. Feb. 16, 2007-Aug. 7, 2016 — Any cigar introduced after Feb. 15, 2007, ...
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