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."

The Certified Consumer Tobacconist Evolution

Any tobacconist worth their salt can tell you about innumerable atrocities committed by ignorant consumers: these include lighting cigars backwards, lighting the cedar sleeve (sometimes including the silk ribbon at the foot), using a torch lighter on a briar pipe, complaining about stems in premium cigar filler, licking an entire cigar then using a shop cutter, sticking a cigar in their nose then returning it to a display box, and many many more!

Furthermore, few people truly understand what priming is, the importance of air curing, the magic of fermentation, the extraordinary skill it takes to blend and roll a cigar, much less the thousands of artisanal steps between seed and ash.   

But the real shame is the lack of activism and pro-activity of luxury cigar and pipe smokers.  After all, luxury tobacco can be a selfish pursuit, in that we enjoy it solely for ourselves.  It can be easy to forget that our beloved products, lifestyle and freedoms are constantly being demonized and  eroded by over-regulation and over-taxation.  No other profession suffers more punishment and threats from local, state, and federal governments.  And of course countless "health" groups, with hundreds of millions of dollars in their budgets, drive their mission to erase us from existence.  

Ultimately, the only way to combat these forces is through education and activism.  That activism can be as simple as sharing your passions with those who don't know any better, educating your peers, and of course supporting Cigar Rights of America so they can provide a political voice in Washington DC and at the state and local level.  

If you really love these products, then you must take a stand and be proactive.  Any loud mouth can pontificate about what they think they know, but only a Tobacconist University (TU) Certified Tobacconist has proven their fundamental knowledge.  The new TU Certified Consumer Tobacconist (CCT) degree is a historic and revolutionary way to prove your knowledge and join the fight for our freedoms at the same time.  The new CCT program can be purchased in the GET CERTIFIED section of the TU website for $100 and comes with a free one year membership to Cigar Rights of America (CRA).  If you are smart enough to pass the test, you will be a Certified Consumer Tobacconist and a member of the CRA.  There is no better representative of this industry than a CCT/CRA member and we encourage you to join our ranks and help us preserve luxury tobacco for generations to come!

THE CCT PROCESS

1. Accept The Consumer Code of Ethics & Standards & Apply for Apprenticeship

- After your $100 payment your apprentice listing will appear on the TU website and the CRA will initiate your annual membership

2. Study the TU Academic Curriculum at your own pace

3. Take the Final Exam* on the TU website

- if you pass you will be awarded your CCT degree and your website listing will be certified

- if you fail, you will be removed from the TU website, but your CRA membership will continue

* The TU Final Exam for CCT is 50 questions, multiple-choice and True/False.  It is the same length and difficulty as the original professional test for certified tobacconists which was used from 1996-2005.

Cigar Geek vs. Tobacconist

As we live in the 'golden age of cigar making' there are more educated consumers than ever before.  While both cigar geeks and tobacconists should be extremely knowledgeable, that does not mean they are one in the same.  Some tobacconists are cigar geeks, but not all.  In fact, there are probably exponentially more cigar geeks than there are tobacconists.  

Cigar geeks are characterized by their epic knowledge of cigar components, varietals, processing, brand info, and history.  Cigar geeks can devour all the information available on the internet, advertising, in forums, magazines, books, social media, and from fan-clubs for their favorite cigar brands and/or cigar makers.  Cigar geeks also travel to cigar farms and factories (e.g. Drew Estate Cigar Safari) and educational events like ProCigar in The Dominican Republic.  Many of these cigar geeks also communicate directly with cigar makers they have met over the years, and they will not hesitate to drop a name or two when it suits them.  If you would like to interact or observe this rare breed, you can find a high concentration of cigar geeks on social media (e.g. facebook, twitter, instagram) and at in-store cigar maker events.  Social media sites and in-store events provide the perfect outlet for cigar geeks to commiserate, share knowledge, pontificate, name drop, and chat directly with cigar makers and each other.    

A tobacconist is an expert in tobacco and all of the related accoutrements.  Tobacconists must have working knowledge of pipes, pipe tobaccos, lighters, humidors, humidifiers, air cleaners, cigar cutters, and of course, cigars.  As professionals, tobacconists must have a strong familiarity of our products and the ability to communicate their traits, features, and tailor that to a wide array of customers.  While many of the products we sell have subjective characteristics, we must be able to explain them to customers with varying degrees of experience and comprehension.  Tobacconists are in the business of hospitality and product knowledge, so they must balance facts and opinions.  In addition, tobacconists are 'experts' in dusting, cleaning, facing cigars, humidifier maintenance, taking inventory, more dusting, managing boisterous regulars, listening, asking questions, sweeping, mopping, problem solving, retail multi-tasking, and customer service.  A good tobacconist will have substantive knowledge about all of the products they sell, but it is impossible to be an expert on all of the brands in the marketplace.  

As tobacconists, we see cigar geeks almost every day but they represent a small, single digit percentage of our customers: they are a vocal minority.  Most of our customers don't read the magazines or industry websites.  They don't know all of the components of their favorite cigar or care who made them.  Most of our customers are in and out in a few minutes with a handful of cigars they will enjoy without over thinking or in-depth analysis.  Retail tobacconist customers, for the most part, enjoy a few cigars a month and the only thing they care about is whether or not they liked the cigar: true story.  

On the other hand, cigar geeks love to talk about the products with tobacconists and share their knowledge with other customers as well.  Cigar geeks often know more about new products and upcoming products than retail tobacconists.  In this regard, they can be helpful to tobacconists by providing insight and feedback about products and brands.  Every store can benefit from having a few cigar geek customers or tobacconists.  Their knowledge and passion brings a lot of value to stores and the cigar smoking community.  On the other hand, cigar geeks can have a very subjective and narrow perspective of the industry and marketplace; they tend to buy the hype, believe all the marketing, and have strong brand biases.  They have their own personal reasons for being cigar geeks and that influences what they are interested in, where they get their information, and what they believe.  

Tobacconists do not have the luxury of running their businesses from a highly subjective or opinionated perspective because that won't pay the bills.  Tobacconists must cast a broader net, understand the spectrum of clients they service, and provide compelling value to them.  In the end,  tobacconist success will be determined by the marketplace while cigar geeks only need to satisfy themselves.

Ultimately, this topic is important to TU because we certify tobacconists, not geeks.  We teach fundamentals and professionalism.  TU can help make you a professional tobacconist, but the path to becoming a cigar geek is a different personal journey.  Fortunately, tobacconists and cigar geeks have a lot to learn and benefit from each other.

Humidor Shopping Trays

If you are a retail tobacconist, do yourself and your customers a favor and provide shopping trays in your humidor.  Here are a few good reasons why:

1. Shopping trays encourage UPSELLING!  Because an empty tray yearns to be filled!

2.  Customers are limited by the amount of cigars they can carry in their hands: shopping trays increase the potential sale!

3.  Make it your custom to grab a tray when you go in the humidor to help a customer.  This practice shows panache, professionalism, and increases sales (see reasons 1 & 2).

While there are not many astute manufacturers providing branded shopping trays, you can create your own from large cigar box lids (see picture).  

Drive Your Business

Drive your business, don't ride it.  It's too easy to let your business coast.  It's too easy to react, play defense, and follow trends.  But great business people know they must be proactive, play offense, stay ahead of the curve, lead rather than follow, and drive your business forward rather than ride it out...  Being a great tobacconist means you need to think ahead, forecast trends, and educate your customers.

If you are selling what's hot on the interwebs or social media, then you are just reacting and following.  This strategy means you will be selling the same stuff all of your competitors are selling and you will fade into the sunset of mediocrity.  Constant improvement, bucking the trends, and innovation are the only way to stay ahead of your competition.  If the brands you carry are showing up on discount mail order sites, then you are behind the curve.  If you are buying what seems hot in social media, then you are reacting defensively.  If you are chasing ratings to fill your humidor, then you are becoming a generic retailer and the discount mail order industry will bury you.

Edit your inventory, vet your products, educate and enlighten your customers and you may succeed.  But don't play defense today.  It's 2015 and consumers are more educated than ever, so any great tobacconist must stay ahead of the curve... But a proactive business creates their own curve.  Don't react to the market.  Make your market.  Be about something (#beaboutsomething): educate!  Let your customers know you edit your products and don't carry the flavor of the month just to be trendy.

But all of this is not enough.  A business is only as good as their employees.  Employees who maintain standards are fine and sometimes we are lucky to have a few of those.  But great employees innovate, improve, and bring vitality to the business.  Ask your tobacconists to elevate merchandising, improve cleanliness/organization, find new products, and teach you something.  Retail tobacconists need to be innovative, proactive, and forward thinking.  If you are spending time trying to maintain standards then you are riding your business and reacting.  Challenge your tobacconists to DRIVE THE BUSINESS: take ownership and pride by improving your professionalism, service, and products!  Again, a business is only as good as its employees, so teach them to drive!

The Tobacconist Magazine Article

After months of research, travel, and writing, Greg Girard has written the most comprehensive article ever written about Tobacconist University (TU).  Mr. Girard, the editor of Tobacconist Magazine, interviewed TU Founder Jorge Armenteros and has managed to capture and convey the personality, character, and passion behind Tobacconist University.  While TU has over 1300 certified tobacconists and apprentices today, its humble beginnings started in a small retail location in Princeton, New Jersey in 1995.  Mr. Girard traveled to Princeton to interview Mr. Armenteros at the place where TU started and the story begins.

"Jorge Armenteros is the implacable force behind the only accreditation program for tobacconists. We take a look at how Tobacconist University got its start some 12 years ago and where it will be going in the next decade."

Mr. Armenteros states "... its a great privilege for the president of Tobacconist University to be interviewed by the editor of Tobacconist Magazine.  While I am thrilled to have our story told and be on the front cover, I only wish that we could have had a group photo of our 1300 plus certified tobacconists and apprentices on the cover instead.  TU is not about me and never will be.... its much bigger than that.  And if I do my job right it will outlive us all and continue to help preserve and support the luxury tobacco industry for generations to come".

This rare interview is published in the Sept/Oct issue of Tobacconist Magazine and is also being made available to the public on the Tobacconist Magazine website:  if you are interested in the past, present, and future of Tobacconist University, this is a must read!

WHAT'S NEW? R&D PA/CT Broadleaf!

What's new? What's new? What's new?  It seems like the most common question we get as retail tobacconists.  This week we are excited to tell you, R&D PA/CT Broadleaf is what's new!!!  These experimental cigars are now shipping to certified tobacconists throughout the US and they are amazing!

You can read all about the PA/CT Broadleaf in the R&D Lab, but we must caution you, these cigars are not for everyone!  They are robust, rich, and profoundly sweet with an intense spice.  If you love flavor, strength, and spice, then you are going to love these cigars!