On September 16, ASAM, along with 47 other organizations including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, sent letters to members of the House and Senate urging them to oppose the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2019, which would prohibit FDA from promulgating any public health protections related to what the cigar industry calls “traditional large and premium cigars.” Even the most basic Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements like ingredient disclosure and warning labels as well as enforcement of youth access laws would not apply to these products. 

The letters stressed that exempting certain tobacco products from FDA regulation will only increase the already alarmingly high number of youth who are using tobacco products. Furthermore, the letter notes that the FDA found in 2016 that there was no public health justification for exempting any cigars from FDA oversight because all cigars pose significant health risks, many of which are similar to those caused by cigarettes.

Read the bill here. 

Read the letter sent to the Senate here. 

Read the letter sent to the House of Representatives here.