What Tom Price’s Resignation Means to the Cigar Industry
By CigarManDan - 10/4/2017
For
the Cigar Industry, this one falls under "SMH" in total
disbelief. The resignation of Tom Price as Health and Human Services
Secretary is a major blow and represents the very real possibility that any
hope of fending off strict FDA Deeming Regulations may be lost forever.
Just when the Cigar loving world saw a light of freedom ahead in the murky
tunnel of FDA over-reach, the light appears to have gone dark.
Since the FDA falls
under Human Services, the Cigar industry appeared to have found a friend in
Price. As a Congressman, Price had previously voted with Republicans
against the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, empowering the
FDA with regulating tobacco products.
This
legislation represents a potential death blow to the Cigar industry, requiring
increased data on each new Cigar line, down to the individual size and style
(length and thickness). This would represent unreasonably high costs to
an industry that simply does not enjoy the same types of revenue that is generated
from the addictive cigarette industry. Further, package warnings and the
banning of customers from the freedom of walk-in humidors are additional
restrictions the Tobacco Act contains.
As Secretary, Price
had authorization to support the law in its current form, limit the current
restrictions that it contains, or abolish the restrictions completely.
The budding Cigar industry had desperately held out hope for the latter.
With Price's use of non-commercial travel leading to his resignation, the hope
of a complete elimination or a significant easing of restrictions would now
seem unlikely at best.
Don
J. Wright has been named interim Secretary following Price's departure.
Wright, also a physician, has been with HHS for over a decade, and has served
as deputy assistant secretary for health and director of the Office of Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion. As Director, Wright oversaw programs
like Healthy People 2020, which set the framework for public health priorities
based on 10-year national health objectives. With these credentials,
Wright would seem anything but the champion of reversing restrictions and
promoting Cigar enthusiast rights.
It would appear
that the permanent replacement as HHS Secretary may be Seema Velma, a former
president, CEO, and founder of SVC Inc., a national health policy consulting
firm. Velma also has close ties to Vice President Mike Pence. She
worked closely with Pence on Medicaid expansion when he was the governor of
Indiana. Again, Velma does not seem like the optimal proponent to easing or
eliminating tobacco regulation.
According to the
FDA, the agency will issue guidance describing a new enforcement policy taking
these dates into account. The changes will not apply to provisions of the
final rule where the compliance deadlines already have passed, such as
mandatory age and photo-ID. The FDA also said this will not affect future
deadlines for other provisions of the rule such as warning statements and
ingredient listings.
In a joint statement IPCPR CEO Mark Pursell and CRA Executive Director Glynn Loope said "this has been a long and complicated process, which is not over. However,
we commend the objective approach announced today by the Commissioner of the
FDA. This aside, the
delay will surely allow additional time for the effects of the cigar industry's
persistent lobbying, advertising, and member communications to take greater
root, hopefully yielding the desired results. However, the loss of such a
great sympathizer and proponent in Tom Price is a clear loss to Cigar
enthusiasts everywhere, and one that hopefully will not signal an end to their
hopes of eliminating such crippling FDA restrictions.