For those wondering how the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) came to a $10 retail price point when trying to define a “premium cigar”—there’s actually some explanation in the literature. Unfortunately, it raises new and more substantial concerns regarding the agency’s position on a premium cigar exemption. In a document regarding the financial impact of the proposed deeming regulations on cigars, e-cigarettes and others, the organization stated that 36 percent of handmade cigars would qualify as a “premium cigar.” It’s the first in a list of frightening revelations regarding the agency’s position on “non-premium handmade cigars” and “premium cigars.” Mainly, the FDA is comfortable excluding 64 percent of the cigars on the market that are made by hand from its “premium” exemption. This number is not based off of sales, which would likely skew in favor of a greater percentage of inexpensive cigars, but rather on the individual cigars on the market. Even more concerning is how the agency arrived at that number. In a footnote it explains: Based on the cigar cyclopedia (Ref. 98 [2010]), about 10 percent of handmade cigars would be excluded from the premium category based on non-price criteria. Richard Perelman is not writing about ...
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