The Dark Age of Cigar Making & The FDApocalypse

As the FDA forces our industry from the 'Golden Age of Cigar Making' to the 'Dark Age of Cigar Making', there are many changes taking place.  Not the least of which is the government allowing Cuban cigars to circumvent the new rules by being imported by tourists for unlimited personal use.  Currently, the largest manufacturing/distribution companies are gobbling up small manufacturers and importers.  Furthermore, it is clear that the 'big boys' in our industry are becoming more vertically integrated and establishing retail operations or buying existing stores to cement their market domination - all of this in addition to their ever growing mail order operations.  Even worse, is the unseen fact that executives throughout our industry are polishing their resumes while trying to figure out where they will go next.  All the while, retail tobacconists who have invested their lives and capital into their businesses are just trying to survive... as usual.       

While massive landscape changes are occurring in the cigar industry, consumers will see very little change in the short term, thanks to good marketing, spin & pivot public relations, jive talk, jibber jabber, deflection, and the fact that most of the changes we will see will happen incrementally.  They have taken our rights, little by little.  They have compounded and beat us with taxes, little by little.  They have passed smoking bans and new regulations, little by little.  And that's how it happens... little by little.  

Sadly, five years from now, we fear there will be less retail tobacconist stores than today.  Not because the public wants less, but because the business environment is too scary to operate in.  Small business owners cannot fight and compete with local, state, and federal governments while trying to service their customers - that is a game created by and best left to the 'big boys'.  But, despite the challenges, many retail tobacconists will survive and some will thrive.  And Tobacconist University (TU) will continue to serve our Vision:

To build and project the credibility of the luxury tobacco industry in order to gain cultural acceptance around the world - preserving luxury tobacco for generations to come.

We are not packing up and calling it a day... nor are we changing our strategy, goals, or tactics.  We will not compromise.  We are doubling down.  Over the next year, TU will deploy more new and unique programs and enhancements than ever before.  We will continue to grow and support tobacconists... so stay tuned!  

If you want to make a difference, get politically involved... join Cigar Rights of America, and support the IPCPR... and GET CERTIFIED!!!


Sincerely, 

Jorge L. Armenteros, CMT
President & Founder
Tobacconist University

IPCPR, CAA, & CRA File Lawsuit Against FDA

Three major cigar and tobacco industry associations file suit against FDA's deeming rule

CAA, IPCPR, & CRA ask District Court of Washington D.C. for declaratory injunction 

For Immediate Release: July 15, 2016 WASHINGTON D.C. - The three major cigar and tobacco industry associations filed suit Thursday against the United States Food and Drug Administration's "Deeming Rule." The Cigar Association of America, International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association, and the Cigar Rights of America are asking the District Court for the District of Columbia for a declaratory injunction "vacate, set aside and enjoin the enforcement of the final rule" because it is violates numerous federal statutes as well as the federal rulemaking process. A full copy of the filing, which details nine counts against the FDA and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, can be found here.

"Just over one month ago, our three associations pledged to work together to develop the appropriate response to the FDA's new deeming rule. After a thorough and detailed legal review, we are challenging this unlawful regulatory action in federal court to protect the statutory and constitutional rights of our industry and its members. The fact that all three of our organizations are acting in one voice speaks to the urgency and seriousness of this action," said Mark Pursell, CEO of the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association. The complaint challenges:

• FDA’s improper application of the February 15, 2007 grandfather date to cigars and pipe tobacco, which subjects those products to more intrusive regulations than cigarettes and smokeless tobacco
• FDA's impermissible assessment of a tax in the form of user fees, and its allocation of these user fees only to cigars and pipe tobacco and not to other newly deemed products
• FDA’s failure to perform an adequate cost-benefit analysis to take into account the effects of the Final Rule on small businesses as is required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act
• FDA's unjustified decision to require cigar health warning labels to be 30% of the two principal display panels of packages
• FDA’s unlawful designation of tobacconists who blend finished pipe tobacco or create cigar samplers of finished cigars as “manufacturers," which subjects those businesses to greater regulation than if they were “retailers”
• FDA’s incorrect decision to regulate pipes as “components” or “parts” rather than as “accessories”

"The FDA ignored the law to craft these expansive and sweeping regulations and cannot justify many of the arbitrary and capricious regulations it purports to enact," said Glynn Loope, Executive Director of Cigar Rights of America. "This lawsuit is a specific and detailed challenge to the FDA's unprecedented assertion of rulemaking authority. "We are acting in one voice to protect the legal rights of our industry at all levels, from the manufacturer, the community retail tobacconist, to the adult patrons of cigars."

Speaking about the lawsuit, Cigar Association of America President Craig Williamson said, "We all worked in good faith to inform and educate the FDA on the unique nature of our industry, its members and our consumers. We hoped the FDA would craft a flexible regulatory structure that accounted for the uniqueness of our industry. Instead, we got a broad, one-size-fits-all rule that fails to account for how cigars and premium cigars are manufactured, distributed, sold and consumed in the United States. The FDA exceeded its statutory authority and violated the federal rulemaking process when crafting this set of broad and sweeping regulations. This challenge asserts nine violations of federal law and rulemaking authority. We are asking the court to enjoin the enforcement of this unlawful regulatory scheme. We are confident that when the court reviews our case on its merits, we will prevail."

What Sells Cigars?

With the threat of FDA regulation looming over the premium cigar industry, smoking bans, and excessive taxation, it might seem a little surprising to see the current proliferation of cigar brands in the marketplace.  If you use social media you might be shocked to see what seems like a handful of new brands popping up every day. There are "boutique" brands, "craft" brands, "artisanal" brands, line extensions, limited editions, micro-batches, line extensions of line extensions, and even major companies partnering with smaller cigar makers to make co-branded brands!  Most interesting is the drama and hyperbole surrounding many of these new brands: many use sensational names, ridiculous back stories, flamboyant characters, and pop culture tie-ins to get the consumers attention.  As always, strong, romantic adjectives are employed to create the perception of quality, history, and authenticity.  Words like vintage, aged, hand-crafted, curated, blessed, rare, special, artistry, brotherhood, legend, and maestro all evoke pleasant thoughts in consumers minds, compelling you to want to try that new (or old) brand.  And lets not forget that "sex" sells too, as does lifestyle marketing.  So many boobs, high end cars and watches that it's hard to make sense of it all.  None of this is new of course, it's just MORE: more in your face, more extreme, more magazines, more info, more internet, more, more, more... 

Of course, our focus at TU is retail tobacconists and educated consumers, so we must try to make sense of it all.  Ultimately, retailers must filter through all of the products and messages to build inventories that are compelling to their customers.   Retailers must build inventories that are well-rounded, both in price and flavor spectrum.  We must avoid the overly hyped products which sit on the shelves after their five minutes of fame because they will ultimately end up deeply discounted on the internet and make us look bad to our customers.   

Every retailer has made the mistake of buying the 'flavor of the month' cigar only to have customers come in and tell them it is discounted 90% on some website: ouch, that hurts!  

Great retail tobacconists must vet their products and be able to educate their customers about them.  We also need to edit our inventories and make sure products turn (sell).  To that end, we have polled many of our Certified Retail Tobacconists (CRT) to try to understand what drives cigar sales in the retail humidor.  It turns out the answers are not that surprising and probably timeless.

Tobacconist's Preference
Probably the most powerful factor driving sales in the retail environment is what tobacconists like:  when a retail tobacconist gets behind a brand, it sells in that store!  Tobacconists naturally push what they smoke and that can be influenced by personal relationships and taste.  Ultimately, a good tobacconist knows good recommendations bring customers back, so we must honor that trust the customer puts in us.  


Marketing & Hype  
Advertising, advertising, advertising!  Sure, that helps, but it's expensive and must be persistent.  The biggest brands are constantly advertising in print media and on the internet to make sure you remember their names.  There is nothing new about this strategy, except that there are many more players fighting for your attention.  Hype, exclusivity, rarity, and perceived 'specialness' are the newest tactics helping to create consumer demand.  In addition, branded lounges, signature events (cruises, wrestling matches, pairing with other luxury goods), over-the-top personalities, and social media are all being used to create awareness and drive demand.  Great tobacconists know to be wary of these techniques, but we must also give our customers what they want... most of the time. 

Romance & A Story
Romance and a story, the holy grail of salesmanship!  If you want to sell cigars, a story helps!  Every brand has a story, some better than others.  The truth is most cigar brand stories today are empty, shallow, and/or contrived.   Sure, you can name a cigar after a famous song and sell a few to fans of that music, but how long can you survive on that trick?  Romance and a story may get the consumer's attention for a minute, but the substance of the product had better be there for long term success.     

Ultimately, great tobacconists have to balance all of these factors, remember that taste is subjective, and build trust with their customers in order to thrive in this market.  You can always sell what you like, but be careful what you read and repeat, and if your going to tell a story and romance the product, make sure you're being honest and not just another fan boy or dilettante regurgitating marketing hype!  Be about something, or you will fail!  

#beaboutsomething 

       

On Government Regulation & Legislating Taste

How do you feel about Government regulation of cigars?  The challenges are staggering for the premium tobacco industry, and retail tobacconists are on the front lines of this battle for taste and freedom: FDA, S-CHIP, Smoking Bans, smoking restrictions, OTP taxes, import duties, small cigar taxes, snuff/snus taxes, cigarette taxes, local/city/state regulations, and many many more...

In a rare, unprecedented, and exclusive interview, Jorge Armenteros, CMT, founder and president of Tobacconist University, sits down to discuss TU, R&D Cigars, the IPCPR, and everything in between. The full interview will be released over the coming weeks and months... stay tuned!

Dear FDA, Tasting Is Essential

 

Tasting Is The Only Way To Distinguish

What is the difference between these two nearly indistinguishable cigars?  They are both premium, Nicaraguan, Churchill sizes with similar construction techniques.  They would both commonly be described as "rich, earthy, and mild to medium strength".  In addition, they both have the same suggested retail price of $6.50 USD.  Yet, one of these cigars is a masterpiece that was a limited production (approx. 55,000 produced) while the other reflects mediocre fermentation, poor construction, and inferior or unimpressive ingredients... in my opinion.  Both of these premium cigars come from the same place, are described the same, are priced the same, and look the same!  The point is, you wouldn't know the difference unless you smoked one.  And you could even prefer the one that I don't like, because taste is subjective!

Of course, for every person that appreciates the flavor complexities, richness and nuance of a premium cigar, there are many who simply think they "stink" or think they all smell and taste like "tobacco".  But nothing could be further from the truth (see Flavor Descriptor Tasting Chart below).  There are also people in the world who don't like the taste of clove, bar-b-q, whiskey, wine, meat, fennel, broccoli, etc.... The same is true for smells: just visit a perfume or candle store to prove the point that there is something for everyone.  Variety is indeed the "spice" of life, taste is subjective, and there is no accounting for taste!

A cigars most important flavor qualities are impossible to ascertain without tasting or sampling it.  And unlike a bottle of wine or fine spirit, which can be sipped a few times and understood and savored by the consumer, a cigar cannot be sampled in just a few puffs.  Why?  Because the nature of a liquid is that it is perfectly blended while premium cigars are crafted with five to eight distinct leaves, in varying proportions.  Each of these leaves must be measured and placed in a hand crafted bunch which will combust at the perfect rate:  perfect combustion is what releases the flavor properties of a cigar. So, in order to assess the qualities of a cigar, it must be smoked, in its entirety. 

The hand blending of multiple leaves in premium cigars makes it is natural to expect differences between cigars that were created at the same time using the same blend; but there will also be changes over time due to production realities.  Weather conditions (sun, temperatures, humidity, cloudiness, rain, etc...), soil rotation, and countless other variables make it impossible to plan and predict what a cigar blend will be in the future and what a cigar will ultimately taste like.  So, while consistency is important when creating cigars, it is impossible to achieve.  Recipes do not exist and blends have to vary.  For this reason, consumers and professional tobacconists must constantly taste and sample premium cigars to determine whether it suits their taste.  There is no accounting for taste, and shallow and factual descriptions are not nearly enough information to base decisions upon (e.g. rich, earthy, and mild to medium strength).

Premium cigars, like fine vintage wines, are released in limited, boutique, vintage, one-off, and rare editions.   As an agricultural product that is cultivated, cured, fermented, aged, blended, and hand crafted, the limited, rare and special nature of cigars is inherent to the product.  Premium cigars cannot be created via recipes, rather, they are a cigar makers artistic interpretation of what has grown out of the soil.  And since taste is subjective, this can be a very esoteric process and product.  Ultimately, only consumers can help to quantify or judge taste by determining whether or not that cigar is successful in the marketplace.  But, it is simply impossible to regulate, judge, or impose, taste.  There is no accounting for taste.

When you buy a car, you know the horsepower, MPG and other vital stats and specifications and you get to test drive it.  When you buy a turkey at the market, you know the calories, carbs, weight and other nutritional information.  And, of course you can have a reasonable expectation of what that turkey will taste like because there is very little variability in turkeys.  But, in case you don't, your super market may have someone there promoting and offering samples of that turkey. 

Every industry and product class has reasonable methods for sampling, assessing, and tasting products because it is necessary.  In the luxury tobacco industry, it is imperative.  Ultimately, not allowing samples and tasting of luxury and premium tobacco products would undermine and destroy the whole industry.  Limiting sampling and tasting will handicap retail tobacconists, undermine consumers, and stifle all creativity on the part of cigar makers.  If sampling and tasting is outlawed, the cigar industry will be left with a handful of generic or homogenized products created by the worlds largest corporations, leaving behind an industry that looks more like the mass-market cigarette industry rather than the boutique, artisanal, and creative industry that exists today.

Tobacco Flavor Descriptors from the Tobacconist University Certified Cigar Review Blueprint:

 

ANIMAL		SWEET & FRUITY			SPICES		PLANTS & EARTH		CHEMICAL
bbq		bittersweet			anise		alfalfa		ammonia
gamey		black cherry			black pepper		barnyard		astringent
leather		blackberry			cardamom		bell pepper		bitter
manure		buttery			chili pepper		cardboard		burnt match
meaty		caramel			cinnamon		cedar		diesel
musky		cherry			cloves		charred		dry
roasted meat		chocolate			cumin		dark roast coffee		harsh
smoked meat		citrusy			ginger		dusty		kerosene
venison		coffee			mulling spice		espresso		lead
		creamy			nutmeg		flowers		mineral
		currant			smoked pepper		fresh cut grass		rust
		dark chocolate			sugar		grass		salt
		dried fruit			wasabi		hay		soapy
		fruity			white pepper		herbs		sulfur
		honey					hickory		tar
		marshmallow					manure
		molasses					mesquite
		orange peel					mildew
		plum					moldy
		raisin					moss
		sugar					moss
		toffee					mushroom
		vanilla					musty
		white chocolate					oak
							old cellar
							papery
							peat
							raw nuts
							roasted nuts
							smoky
							soil/dirt
							tannic
							tea
							toasted
							vegetal
							wet forest
							wet grass
							wine cask

Jorge L. Armenteros, CMT
President & Founder
Tobacconist University

Response to the FDA

Submit Your Comments to the FDA

 

Background & Info @ Halfwheel

Dear FDA,

I am writing with regard to premium cigars being regulated by the FDA and treated the same as cigarettes and other nicotine delivery systems.  Premium cigars are different.  They are handcrafted as organoleptic delicacies: no different than fine wines or gourmet foods.  As a consumer, retail tobacconist, and president of the organization that certifies professional and luxury tobacconists (Tobacconist University) I can attest that premium cigar consumers are adults who enjoy the relaxing, social and meditative value that the products are meant to convey.  In addition, fine premium cigars are delicious and not used out of habit.  The majority of our customers smoke approx. one cigar per week, to unwind and savor their time. 

Furthermore, premium cigars cannot be defined by their retail price (ie. $10) because there are many inexpensive varieties, and while I prefer the flavor profiles of more expensive cigars, taste is subjective.  Some consumers even prefer premium cigars that have infused or hints of other flavors: the same applies to fine wines and gourmet foods.

Ultimately, premium cigars are made from whole leaf dark tobaccos (not homogenized or processed).  They are bunched by hand (often with the assistance of a Lieberman machine - which is a simple strip of canvas which helps compress the tobaccos evenly), and wrapped with a leaf of wrapper tobacco.  Wrapper tobacco in particular is an exquisite leaf which is cultivated like rare orchids and applied by extraordinary crafts-men and women.  The transformation of rustic leaves into a beautiful premium cigar takes years to unfold and it must be seen to be appreciated.  I would welcome the opportunity to share these processes with the FDA.  Hand crafted premium cigars are a special artisanal product and their cultivation and manufacture is an amazing and beautiful process.

I hope that you will take these facts into consideration and keep the regulation of premium cigars (and pipe tobaccos) separate from cigarettes and smokeless tobaccos.  We currently have many creative boutique products in the marketplace and it would be a shame to find the premium cigar industry consolidated into a few massive multi-national corporations.  Similarly, it would be a travesty to see retail tobacconists decimated by over regulation.  Currently, retail tobacconists represent the best of America and the premium cigar industry.  As the president of Tobacconist University, I represent hundreds of small retailers who work hard to service their customers and help them savor their time.  We take great pride in our walk-in humidors and giving customers an immersive aromatic experience while they shop.  We're an old-fashioned business selling hand crafted products which take years to create.  And we love our products, customers, and our old-fashioned shops. 


I would welcome the opportunity to help share with you any of my information, educational tools, connections, or access to this special industry.  At the very least, please visit a certified tobacconist and experience the passion and professionalism that we provide.  In our modern world where information travels at the speed of light, and change is increasingly unsettling, retail tobacconists and our consumers appreciate simple values like relaxation and hand crafted luxury products which help us savor our time.

Sincerely,

Jorge L. Armenteros, CMT
President & Founder
Tobacconist University

The FDA & Cigars

Here is a letter written to the FDA by several members of Congress.  In it, our representatives ask and implore the FDA to exclude cigars from the regulations which are being imposed on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. 

 

According to Glynn Loope, Executive Director of Cigar Rights of America (CRA), “this is the most over arching issue confronting this industry.”  We must not allow the onerous legislation and taxation to encroach on the premium cigar industry.  Please read the letter and sign up for the CRA Grassroots Email Network.  Its free and imperative that you participate to preserve our extraordinary industry.  

 

 

 

If we fail to act now our industry will surely perish.  Join the CRA! And fight for our rights!

F-D-Absurdity: Electronic Cigarettes

 

 

On Wednesday July, 22 the FDA held a press conference which essentially banned e-cigarettes and tried to spin the information (as opposed to scientific data) so it seems like they are as bad as cigarettes.   Dr. Michael Siegel does a great job of outlining the lunacy of the FDA’s position in his article:  FDA Lunacy: Product We Know Will Kill 400,000 People This Year – Approved;  Product that May Well Help Prevent Many of Those People from Dying:  Banned.

Clearly, the FDA, lung and cancer associations, pharmaceutical industry, and anti-smoking groups hate the thought of e-cigarettes.  It seems they abhor the thought and/or act of smoking more than the negative health effects.  Perhaps the thought that people actually enjoy nicotine or sensory pleasures is unbearable to the nanny state and pleasure police so they must vilify any act that resembles smoking anything.

The horrible irony is that there are nicotine replacement therapies (nrt) whose side effects are SUICIDE, yet they are just fine by the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies that sell them; as well as the lung and cancer lobbies/associations (there are too many to name them all so please allow the generalization).

We all know that cigarette smoking is the most unhealthy of all our freedoms… and it will remain that way… unless they make them illegal or allow a product that will shorten the lives of 500,000 people per year (as opposed to the supposed 400k who die prematurely from cigarette smoking).  But, in a free and healthy society people must be able to take educated risks and live their lives as they please without infringing on the freedoms of others.


There will always be a “WORST” or “MOST UNHEALTHY” freedom/lifestyle choice/personal preference/activity/taste.  And that should be OK.  Society does not need to continually beat up and/or prohibit ‘the worst’ freedoms; a healthy society will just accept them and educate the population.  Otherwise, the most dangerous threat to freedom is the continual legislation and pursuit of health and safety.

In the end, I don’t believe that ‘Greed Is Good’ (to quote Wall Street’s Gordon Gecko)… But RISK IS GOOD – as determined by the individual, for the individual.  Risk is necessary to move civilization, technology, and individuals forward.   Risk is the foundation of the pursuit of happiness – the fundamental premise behind The United States of America.  Risk is good.


PS:
Dear FDA,
Please relax, smoke a cigar, and remember that WITHOUT FREEDOM OF CHOICE AND RISK THERE IS NO REWARD OR PROGRESS.  Clearly you understand that when allowing the sale of pharmaceuticals whose side effects include suicide, depression, heart attacks, etc…  FREE TOBACCO.  LET THE FARMERS LET THE PLANTS CONTROL THE NICOTINE.  And leave my coffee, alcohol, and chocolate alone too.