Watchdog Group: Court Decision on Cigars is a Win for Consumers

For Immediate Release            Contact: Courtney Mattison (202-535-7492)

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  In a recent decision, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) application of the “deeming rules” to premium cigars. In its decision, the Court found the rules to be “arbitrary and capricious.” This ruling means that cigars are no longer subject to FDA regulatory authority.

The FDA’s history of regulating tobacco products dates to the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. This legislation granted the agency broad authority over the sale, manufacturing, marketing, and monitoring of tobacco products in the United States. At the time, the FDA was only permitted to regulate a limited range of tobacco-related products. In 2016, the agency issued the “deeming rules,” which allow the FDA to regulate any product “made or derived from tobacco that is intended for human consumption.” As such, cigars and novel tobacco product, were subject to FDA regulation. The recent court decision vacates that authority.

In response, TPA Consumer Center Director Lindsey Stroud offered the following comment:

“The recent decision is even more evidence of the FDA’s failure in this space. Combustible cigarettes are responsible for 480,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Yet, the agency continues to engage in ‘arbitrary and capricious’ regulations and rules for products such as cigars that are not causing the most harm, nor seeing an uptick of youth use.

“National studies find that youth use of cigars is declining. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, only 3.1 percent of high school students were currently using cigars in 2021.  67r Even better, only 0.5 percent report daily cigar use. These are some of the lowest levels recorded.

“The FDA should take the recent Court decision – as well as others in the many pending lawsuits regarding its regulation of e-cigarettes – as a sign to reevaluate their approach. No other adult consumable product is subject to the same level of draconian regulatory authority that disregards consumer choice.

“The FDA should also reexamine its role in solving the smoking problem and utilize its resources to bring less harmful alternatives to market as soon as possible.”

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