What Tom Price's Resignation Means to the Cigar Industry

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.

However, there is some good news for the Cigar industry in all of this uncertainty.  In late July, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced a near-three-year delay for cigar makers to be required to get agency approval for any product marketed after February 15, 2007. This moves the deadline from November 8, 2018 to August 8, 2021 to keep a non-grandfathered product on the market. While it’s not a win, nor an end to regulations by any means, it is a delay the cigar industry will gladly embrace.

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.