When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a 30-day extension to the comment period regarding the proposed regulation of cigars, e-cigarettes, pipe and shisha tobacco, the agency said very little on its reasonings behind doing so. In fact, it said essentially nothing other than that the comment period had been extended. While it was by no means a victory for the anti-tobacco groups in favor of the strictest interpretation of the deeming regulations, the 30-day extension is pretty much just that, an extension. That said, here’s a few takeaways 1. THE IPCPR IS THE BIG WINNER If there was any winner in this news it was the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailer Association (IPCPR). The new closing date now falls on Aug. 8, a few weeks after the annual IPCPR convention and trade show, which takes place July 19-23. The IPCPR—and others—had hoped that it would be able to extend the comment period beyond the trade show so that it could communicate with its members (retailers) in a face-to-face setting. This now is able to happen. Groups like Cigar Rights of America (CRA) and the Cigar Association of America (CAA) will also benefit, although the latter will ...
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