By Kevin Godbee
U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) have sent a letter dated October 14, 2011, to U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, requesting that the agency “move swiftly to issue a strong regulation that would legally treat or deem all tobacco products, including cigars, pipe tobacco, and hookah tobacco and accessories, as subject to the Tobacco Control Act.”
This is another case of premium tobacco products, like pipe tobacco, being lumped together with the chemical-laden, highly addictive mass-market cigarettes produced by “Big Tobacco”. It’s certainly not the first time a politician made completely misguided, uneducated decision, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Luckily, some of us are trying to do something to save the premium tobacco market, but we need everyone to act, or you may have to kiss your pipe tobacco goodbye.
In a letter dated October 14, 2011, to U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, requesting that the agency “move swiftly to issue a strong regulation that would legally treat or deem all tobacco products, including cigars, pipe tobacco, and hookah tobacco and accessories, as subject to the Tobacco Control Act.”
In addition, the Senators have requested a meeting with Commissioner Hamburg to receive an update on FDA’s progress regarding a possible regulation of other tobacco products and the time frame for the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products to complete this regulation. Click here for the text of the October 14th letter from the three U.S. Senators to Commissioner Hamburg.
We contacted Bill Spann, CEO of The International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association for comment, and he had this to say. “The letter is further proof that action is required to ensure passage of H.R. 1639 and S. 1461 by and for everyone who enjoys premium cigars . It should foster a sense of urgency among all IPCPR members and other tobacco retailers and their customers to contact their U.S. Representatives and Senators and ask them to co-sponsor these bills that are designed to protect premium cigars. We must act now, before the process requested by these senators brings our industry down. The clock is running. We urge all pipe smoking enthusiasts and retailers to go to www.IPCPR.org and follow the easy steps to a successful outcome regarding these important bills.”