FreedomWorks Foundation Submits Comment Opposing FDA Flavored Cigar Ban
Today, FreedomWorks Foundation submitted a comment opposing the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposal to ban flavors in cigars. More than 780 FreedomWorks activists also submitted comments in opposition.
If adopted, the ban will limit adult choice; harm U.S. manufacturers, distributors, and retailers; and fuel cross-border and black-market sales–while doing little to stop underage smoking, the FDA’s prime justification for the ban.
- This complete ban on a product that many adults choose to consume will merely shift sales from legitimate retailers, who pay taxes and provide jobs–to smugglers and black marketeers, who use the proceeds to fund illicit and dangerous activity such as terrorism.
- Untaxed products harm thousands of small businesses, including tobacconists whose small businesses depend on selling a variety of cigars. Federal and state governments will also suffer loss of revenue from excise taxes.
- Unregulated products are likely to be manufactured in less-than-sanitary conditions by manufacturers who are not concerned about adhering to good manufacturing practices.
The FDA would ban products that adults have enjoyed for more than a century to prevent access by less than one percent of the market. Rather than limiting adult choice, government policy should be focused on preventing underage kids from getting access to tobacco products.
