01/24/2025
D.C. Circuit Affirms Premium Cigar Exemption from FDA Regulation
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an opinion affirming the decision to exempt premium ci**rs from FDA Regulation. Drew Newman, fourth-generation owner and general counsel of J.C. Newman Cigar Co. issued the following statement:
“Today is a huge day for America’s historic premium cigar industry because it ensures that adults will continue to have the right to enjoy a premium cigar for generations to come. Today, my family rolls premium ci**rs the same way that my great-grandfather did a century ago. Our only goal is to continue handcrafting premium ci**rs in the United States for another four generations and 130 years. Today’s monumental decision freeing us from government overregulation will allow us to do just that.
“Today’s decision recognizes a simple fact, that premium ci**rs are different from ci******es and all other to***co products. FDA overlooked this in 2016 when it decided to regulate premium ci**rs and treat them just like ci******es. FDA’s decision made no sense and would have subjected premium ci**rs to a comprehensive set of strict, cumbersome, and costly regulatory requirements, including product testing, manufacturing standards, premarket review, and health warning labels. Because these regulations were designed for mass-market products like ci******es, it would have been impossible for our company and other premium cigar makers to survive.
“Eighteen months ago, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia concluded that the FDA acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it decided to regulate premium ci**rs like ci******es in 2016. Judge Mehta explained that FDA ignored evidence from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute showing the premium ci**rs are enjoyed infrequently and pose a lower health risk than ci******es and other to***co products. FDA appealed Judge Mehta’s decision and today, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed with Judge Mehta and affirmed his ‘well-reasoned opinion.’
“The Court of Appeals explained that FDA’s decision to regulate premium ci**rs ‘rested on a false factual premise’ because the agency ‘did not examine the relevant data’ on premium ci**rs, including ‘evidence that premium cigar use poses a less urgent public health risk than associated with any other to***co product.’ In upholding Judge Mehta’s decision, the Court of Appeals remanded the case back to Judge Mehta to consider if the definition ‘premium cigar’ he adopted is the correct or should be adjusted further. This issue will be considered in the months ahead.
“This has been an 11-year David-versus-Goliath battle between the small, family businesses that handcraft premium ci**rs and a large government bureaucracy. Although today’s decision provides enormous relief and should be celebrated, the fight to protect the right to enjoy premium ci**rs is not over. My father, uncle, and I wish to express our deepest thanks to the three plaintiffs in this case, the Cigar Association of America, Cigar Rights of America, and the Premium Cigar Association, for leading this effort. We are also tremendously grateful for Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL) and former Senator and now Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R-FL) and for their tireless advocacy in Congress in support of America’s historic premium cigar industry.”
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