Surgeon General’s Report Highlights Tobacco Disparities

The Surgeon General released a sweeping report on November 19th, outlining persistent disparities in tobacco use and health outcomes across the United States. The report, which builds on findings from a 1998 study, acknowledges significant progress in reducing smoking rates and secondhand smoke exposure over the last several decades but highlights the significantly different outcomes among various demographic groups.

The findings paint a complex picture. While national smoking rates have dropped by more than 70% since 1965, the report details stark differences based on race, income, education, and geography. Smoking rates remain disproportionately high among American Indian and Alaska Native populations, individuals living in poverty, and residents of rural areas.

In response, the report suggests a suite of policy recommendations, including restrictions on flavored tobacco, reducing nicotine levels in combustible products, and expanding smokefree air laws. These recommendations mirror the structure of many proposed rules the FDA currently has under review at OIRA.

Pushback From CRA

For years, Cigar Rights of America (CRA), have voiced concerns about the type of recommendations the report makes and the failure to account for critical distinctions between handcrafted cigars and other tobacco products like cigarettes or e-cigarettes.

“Premium cigars are not contributing to the disparities highlighted in this report,” said Mike Copperman, Executive Director of CRA. “They are artisanal products enjoyed responsibly by adults, with minimal youth appeal. Lumping them into the same regulatory framework as mass-market tobacco ignores the evidence.”

Premium cigars, Copperman argued, have unique characteristics that set them apart: they are handcrafted, lack additives, and are marketed to a largely older demographic with consumption rates averaging 1-2 cigars a month instead of the 2023 average of 11 cigarettes per day. He added that data consistently supports negligible use among youth and usage patterns that do not indicate addictive tendencies, a stark contrast to other tobacco products targeted in the report.

A Question of Balance

The Surgeon’s General report, and the FDA rules which it mirrors, demonstrate that our work to differentiate premium cigars in the regulatory landscape is not finished. While we achieved a significant victory in the courts in 2023 with the vacating of FDA regulation over premium cigars, CRA continues to push back and confront policies like flavor bans and nicotine reductions, which the report highlights as tools to combat disparities. 

With regards to nicotine limits, implementing product-based nicotine limits would effectively eliminate premium cigars from the marketplace. Unlike other tobacco products, premium cigars naturally contain higher nicotine levels due to traditional cultivation and fermentation processes. However, because premium cigars are enjoyed differently—typically through slower, non-inhaled consumption—the bioavailable nicotine absorbed by the body is significantly lower compared to cigarettes or vapes. This distinction highlights why nicotine limits designed for other products are both unnecessary and inappropriate for premium cigars.

As it relates to flavors, while premium cigars do not contain characterizing flavors like menthol or chocolate, CRA has consistently raised concerns about vague language in flavor ban policies. Such language could unintentionally stifle the marketing of cigars’ natural aroma and flavor notes—key attributes that appeal to adult consumers. In the worst of cases, premium cigars could be mischaracterized and banned from the market completely.

What’s Next for Premium Cigar Regulation?

As the tobacco control debate continues, CRA will continue its efforts to differentiate premium cigars from mass-market tobacco products. Regulating cigars in the same way as cigarettes not only threatens small businesses but also ignores the cultural and artisan value of the product.

Premium cigars need evidence-based regulations that accurately reflect the unique characteristics and consumption practices of premium cigars so that they. To read the full Surgeon General’s report, click here.