PCA Magazine Summer 2022

12 PCA The Magazine | VOLUME 3 2022 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG News + Notes cont. N E W S + N O T E S Boutique Cigar Association of America’s Annual Smoke at the Creek PCA was invited to join the Boutique Cigar Association of America for their annual Smoke at the Creek Cigar Festival and Ryan Parada, government affairs manager, represented PCA at the event. Located right outside Indianapolis, the Smoke at the Creek is held at the Cedar Creek Winery & Brew Co., a member of the BCAA and a producer their own premium cigars. Day one of the festival was the VIP gathering, offering amazing food, drinks, and of course, cigars. Remarks given by Gaby Kafie, founder of the BCAA, noted their excitement for next year’s PCA trade show at which the BCAA will have a Boutique Cigar Pavillion where all of the BCAA member companies can showcase their products and place orders. Kafie also shared that the BCAA will be visiting as observers to InterTabac in Germany this year and announced that the BCAA will now be a corporate sponsor of the Cigar Rights of America. “Our industry is very small, it has and will continue to face some very big regulatory challenges,” said Kafie. "We must all come together and contribute towards one common goal … deregulation of premium cigars.” PCA Submits Evidence to New Zealand Parliament In August, the PCA submitted evidence to be considered by the New Zealand Parliament in an effort to revise the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill. If unaltered, the bill would significantly limit the number of retailers able to sell premium cigars and remove the ability of adults to make decisions for themselves in the future. The year restriction for tobacco sales would ban all people born on or after January 1, 2009, from ever buying tobacco products, effectively banning tobacco sales moving forward. The PCA submitted a comment specifically crafted for the New Zealand Parliament's Health Committee. PCA’s comment relied heavily on the health effects of premium cigar use not warranting graphic images and warning labels, or any more regulation than are already placed on these products. New Zealand has some of the strictest tobacco laws in the world, not to mention an incredibly high tax on tobacco products. These laws, however, are not based in science but instead are based on the premise that the New Zealand government does not believe average adults can make decisions for themselves. Studies on the health effects of premium cigars clearly show there is no need to take this simple pleasure away from people and is yet another example of anti-tobacco groups and their allies in government moving the goalposts yet again. “It is important we stand with the premium cigar industry, whether it is local, state, federal or international,” said Scott Pearce, PCA Executive Director. “This policy directly aims to shutter retailer storefronts in New Zealand and aims to deprive adult consumers their freedom to choose whether or not to enjoy premium cigars.” Joshua Habursky, PCA Deputy Executive Director and Head of Government Affairs, echoed Pearce’s statement, saying bad policy has a tendency to spread beyond borders at unfortunate rates. “We don’t want to see New Zealand export these draconian policies elsewhere in the world,” said Habursky.