2019 PCA Magazine

PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG JULY-AUGUST 2019 | PCA The Magazine 13 limiting his outreach solely to the premium tobacco world. He’ll be delivering this more aggressive, holistic message to organizations and agencies about issues that share common ground with PCA, like taxes, small business and trade. “I’ve been given the capacity to take on these things and be very aggressive in our advocacy. I think you’re going to see more of a presence on Capitol Hill,” Habursky says. “I want to grow our brand within Washington and be an entity that has a seat at the table. So if there’s something that’s coming up about tobacco, we’re the first phone call that some members of Congress make. But then also go a step further and, if it’s a small business issue, we have a seat at that table as well.” When Habursky isn’t advocating for premium tobacco, you can find him rooting for the Washington Capitals, teaching as an adjunct professor at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management, or writing for Campaigns and Elections Magazine . — Habursky can be reached via email at  joshua@ ipcpr.org . New Comprehensive Tobacco Bill Introduced The bill “To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the sale and marketing of tobacco products, and for other purposes” (H.R. 2339) will be called the ‘‘Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019.” The bill would amend the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, originally designed to curb youth access to cigarettes. How “Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019” would impact premium cigars: Ban Online Sale of All Deemed Tobacco Products – Online sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products were banned in 2010, but this bill would extend that rule to ALL deemed products, which currently includes premium cigars. Increase User Fees – The FDA would have explicit authority to collect fees from all deemed products in addition to cigarettes and the total amount of fees collected by the agency would increase by $100 million. Raise Minimum Tobacco Purchase Age to 21 – The minimum age to purchase tobacco would be 21 nationwide. There is no provision prohibiting states or localities from raising the minimum age above 21. Advertising & Sales Restrictions – All cigarette advertising and sales restrictions would also apply to premium cigars. This means advertising any tobacco brand on nontobacco merchandise (such as T-shirts or other apparel) is prohibited; event sponsorship (music, sports, etc.) by a tobacco brand or manufacturer is prohibited; and free gifts (even nontobacco) in exchange for consideration of purchasing a tobacco product are prohibited. Ban Flavored Tobacco Products – Characterizing flavors of all tobacco products would be prohibited under this Act. — PCA opposes this legislation and we will continue to engage with lawmakers to seek fair treatment of premium cigars by the FDA. To that end, we are continuing to gain support and co- sponsors for our exemption bills in both the Senate (S.9) and the House (H.R. 1854). N E W S + N O T E S