Late last week, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) reintroduced legislation that would protect the premium cigar industry from ongoing federal regulations that pose an existential threat. Known as The Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act (S. 9) – the bill creates an explicit federal definition of premium cigars, and exempts the category from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) Deeming Rule.
IPCPR extends its sincere thanks to Senator Rubio for his continued commitment to defending the premium cigar industry from onerous and unnecessary government overreach. The association also applauds the 10 co-sponsors of this bi-partisan bill for continued engagement on this issue which directly impacts small businesses in their state.
According to Scott Pearce, IPCPR Executive Director, it’s the support of great members like Senator Rubio and the co-sponsors of S. 9 that demonstrate the continued value of advocacy from retailers. “A decade ago, few folks on Capitol Hill could barely tell you the difference between a premium cigar vs. any other tobacco product. Now – we have a tenth of the Senate showing their resolute support for the industry within the first week of a new Congress. This is in part because of the hard work and advocacy of IPCPR’s members and the association’s presence in Washington, DC. This is why we tell our folks that advocacy works – and tools like cigaraction.org are so important to our industry. It brings retailers and consumers together with their members.”
S.9 is identical to legislation introduced last Congress, and lays out a strict set of criteria for any product to qualify as a premium cigar. The full text of the bill can be found here.
IPCPR thanks all current co-sponsors of S. 9. They include:
- Senator Gardner (R-CO)
- Senator Manchin (D-WV)
- Senator Cotton (R-AR)
- Senator Menendez (D-NJ)
- Senator Ernst (R-IA)
- Senator Barrasso (R-WY)
- Senator Casey (D-PA)
- Senator Inhofe (R-OK)
- Senator Kennedy (R-LA)
- Senator Boozman (R-AR)