PCA Magazine Fall 2019

eaction to the announcement of CigarCon at this year’s PCA showwas understandably strong. For many, allowing consumers to attend the PCA show, regardless of format, is a dramatic shift from the norm. Our intent was never to ambush our membership with the CigarCon idea. We also never intended the announcement and the few details we provided to be set in stone. Instead, our hope was to announce the program, elicit feedback and then develop a strong event that all classes of membership will enjoy and benefit from. The origins of a consumer day started several years agowhen the manufacturers on our Advisory Board presented the idea. The concept was not new and, at the time, the idea was not ready for prime time and sowas put on the back burner as other initiatives and projects became a priority (namely the FDA regulation fight andmoving PCA headquarters toWashington, D.C., fromGeorgia). Over the years, several variations of a consumer day were developed andworked on by directors of the board, association members andmanufacturers. But it wasn’t until last year, whenwe were taking stock of all the challenges we are facing and the legal battles (and bills), that the idea of CigarCon started to come to life as a way to engage and activate our consumers in our fight as well as help raise money to fund the fight. The intent of CigarCon can be distilled down to two salient points: enhancing consumer engagement andmobilizing consumer support. There is rarely a day that goes by that we don’t encounter a consumer who wants to bemore involved in our organization. Consumers consistently cravemore information, more engagement and more products. From store events to factory tours to educational outings, consumers have proven that this industry is important to themand they are ready and willing to support it. We are at a critical point in our legislative and legal fights. Our legal expenses have grown considerably since the Deeming Rule was announced by the FDA three years ago. To date, we have spent $3.8million dollars in legal bills battling warning labels and substantial equivalence. And those legal expenses will continue to increase in the next three to five years, by upward of $10million dollars or more. We need to be able tomobilize quickly and loudly when laws or regulations that negatively impact our industry are proposed, including fights at the federal, state and local levels. For decades, this has been done with the valiant support of our retail and manufacturer members, but, just like our rebranding to PCA, today and in the future, our organization requires goals and initiatives that are proactive rather than reactive. CigarCon is an opportunity for all of us to develop deeper ties to the consumer while creating a grassroots movement (financially and through advocacy) to help protect our industry. Themore we engage our customers, themore it will benefit our bottom line. And themore voices we have on our side, the stronger our resilience to unnecessary and damaging regulations. We believe CigarCon will be one of themany programs that will help us with those goals. Your feedback on this issue has been fantastic and we encourage you to continue reaching out to us CIGARCON DECONSTRUCTED BY SCOTT PEARCE AND SCOTT REGINA R Cigar Con 16 PCA The Magazine | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG