top of page

Will Cigar Businesses Be Saved from Crippling FDA Regulation?


Tobacco Farmer

17 members of the U.S. Senate and recently Senator Pat Toomey (R) from Pennsylvania, have pledged support for Bill S. 294 - the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2017. Support for the bill exempting premium cigars from FDA Regulation includes 11 Republicans and 6 Democrats.

This Bill was brought by Florida Senators Bill Nelson (D) and Marco Rubio (R) and is currently under Committee review.

In July 2017, the House of Representatives passed their version of the Bill H.R. 3354 with the same cigar-friendly message. If the Senate can garner the votes, S. 294 may become a reality, and the 200-year old handmade cigar industry which is widely composed of small and medium sized businesses, many of them family owned, may actually survive.

Until that time, continue to contact your Senator to urge bi-partisan support to vote in favor of this Bill (S. 294). So far, the effort has proven beneficial.

Correspondence to your Senator to combat the regulations is strongly encouraged.


bottom of page