Premium Cigar News and Notes

Look here for current cigar articles, news alerts and more

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Apr 17

CRA Files Reply Brief In U.S. Court of Appeals

On Monday, April 15th, Cigar Rights of America (CRA), filed the industry’s reply brief in response to the United States Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) appeal in Cigar Association of America, Cigar…

Apr 17

The Imperative of Tax Caps for Premium Cigars

When it comes to state taxation policies, few industries face as much scrutiny and inconsistency as premium cigars. As lawmakers grapple with budgetary constraints and revenue generation, the cigar industry…

Apr 17

Vermont’s Senate Bill 18: Premium Cigars and the Flavored Tobacco Debate

On January 18, 2023, Vermont State Senator Virginia Lyons proposed Senate Bill 18 (S.18) which would eliminate flavored tobacco products in the state. The bill’s preamble highlighted the detrimental effects…

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Apr 04

Celebrating Baseball’s Timeless Bond with Cigars

Baseball and cigars have woven a unique tapestry in American culture, symbolizing not only a bond of tradition and camaraderie but also celebrated collective memory and individual leisure. With the…

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Mar 27

The Impact of a New Trump Administration’s Policy on Agencies

By Mike Copperman President Biden and former President Donald Trump have secured the necessary number of delegates to clinch their party’s presidential nomination, paving the way for the inevitable rematch…

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Mar 14

The Looming Shadow: Generational Smoking Bans and the Premium Cigar Industry

By Mike Copperman The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts’ decision to uphold the town of Brookline’s decision to implement a generational smoking ban, prohibiting the sale of tobacco to anyone…

Cigar News

January 25, 2024

Florida: J.C. Newman Cigar Co. is launching a new experience for visitors: a tobacco tasting class. In this smoking class, visitors to J.C. Newman’s historic El Reloj cigar factory in Tampa, Florida will learn about 24 types of premium cigar tobacco grown in 9 countries and smoke a selection of single-leaf puritos. The 75-minute class costs $50 per person and is limited to six adults.

January 17, 2024

Washington, DC: The Chevron Doctrine, a legal principle established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1984 case Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., has played a pivotal role in shaping administrative law in the United States. It outlines the deference federal courts should give to an administrative agency's interpretation of ambiguous statutes. However, recent years have seen challenges to the doctrine, and the Supreme Court's decision to hear the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo indicates a potential reevaluation of the Chevron Doctrine's future.

January 12, 2024

Virginia - 2023 has been an inflection point for the premium cigar industry. The Mehta Decision represents the largest tobacco regulatory rollback in American history, and has resulted in an unprecedented regulatory pause for premium cigars. While excited about this historic victory, we must remain aware that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is likely to attempt to re-regulate premium cigars in the future.

January 5, 2024

Virginia – The Board of Directors of Cigar Rights of America (CRA) is delighted to announce the appointment of Mike Copperman as the organization's new executive director. This decision comes after an extensive search and selection process to find a dynamic and experienced leader to guide CRA through its next phase of growth and advocacy.

December 28, 2023

Florida: Tampa had 200 cigar factories in the early 1900s, and only a handful still stand today. But for Robert Holsopple, restoring the ones that survived has become a full-time job.

December 28, 2023

Washington, DC: United States Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Rand Paul (R-KY) joined forces in a bipartisan appeal to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) on December 13, 2023. The senators sent a letter urging the CTP to overhaul its application review process for harm-reduced tobacco products, expressing concerns about the agency's efficiency and commitment to science and evidence-based practices.

December 26, 2023

Colorado: Outside of the Knights of Columbus Council #10122 building in Aurora before the big holiday, families form a long line out the door. Children wait with excitement, knowing Christmas — and presents — are about to come early.

December 26, 2023

Washington, DC: On December 18, 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) released a five-year Strategic Plan, setting out its current thinking about priorities in tobacco science and regulation. The Strategic Plan is intended to address criticisms made by the Reagan-Udall Foundation (RUF) one year ago about operational effectiveness at the Center. Despite engaging in a lengthy process of public engagement in the wake of that report, the plan released today by FDA contains little new policy and does not adopt many of the key recommendations.

December 19, 2023

Washington, DC: A resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would remove the Food and Drug Administration’s authority to regulate premium cigars, according to Halfwheel. Cigar Rights of America (CRA) worked with Representative Byron Donalds to introduce the joint resolution, which would provide a definition of premium cigars and specify that the term “tobacco product” does not mean premium cigar.

December 11, 2023

Iowa: Iowa began its history in the cigar-making business in 1856 with a small shop owned by Henry Gabriel in Burlington. The shop was referred to as a “buckeye,” a term used before the Cuban Revolution to describe a small cigar factory, according to Cigar Aficionado. The term came from the factory’s use of tobacco from Ohio, the Buckeye State.

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