US: FDA''s Final Cigar Ruling Could Come Soon

Source from:  Cigar Aficionado 10/21/2015

The Food and Drug Administration has passed its final ruling of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act on for review.

According to both the Cigar Rights of America and Cigar Association of America, the FDA sent its final ruling to the Office of Management and Budget this morning. The OMB plans, organizes, and carries out annual and multi-year budgeting for the programs administered by the FDA.

The final ruling will determine whether or not the FDA would gain regulatory authority over cigars, pipe tobacco and e-cigarettes. In 2009, the FSPTCA was signed into law, granting the FDA regulatory control of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco. Cigars, though, were not initially impacted. However, the FSPTCA also gave the FDA the right to deem any additional tobacco products, such as premium cigars, worthy of regulation by the agency in the future.

In April 2015, the FDA released a set of deeming regulations that proposed extending the rules of FSPTCA to include cigars, pipe tobacco and e-cigarettes. Two sets of rules were offered in that measure: Option 1, which would extend agency authority over all tobacco products; and Option 2, which would exempt premium cigars.

So, the cigar industry now awaits the announcement of the final ruling. The OMB has no set deadline to review the rule before it's released. Enditem