Saturday, October 22 2011
By Charlie Toraño | Toraño Cigar Family
I GREW UP IN THE TOBACCO BUSINESS, but I never thought I'd spend a day working in this industry. In the 1970s and 80s the cigar industry was literally dying. As the older generation was passing on, there were no new cigar smokers entering the market. Thus, my father told me to educate myself and to not even think about working with him. Fortunately, all of this changed when in the early 1990s the cigar boom hit and younger men began to enjoy the pleasures of cigar smoking. This gave me the opportunity to work with my father and to be a part of this great industry.
Today, I have a 13 year old son, Carlos J. Toraño, whose goal in life is to work alongside his father in the cigar business. My dilemma is whether to encourage him or to tell him what my father told me when I was a kid; namely, to not trust that the industry will be here in the next decade. My reasons for concern are different from my father's. My concern, as it should be for all who love smoking
cigars, is simple. Will the government succeed in crushing our business through taxes and the FDA regulation or will we rise up to meet and defeat this challenge?
Today, the
handmade premium cigar industry is united in its effort to carve out a federal definition of premium cigars that will exempt it from FDA jurisdiction. It is impossible to understate the risk to the industry if the FDA takes regulatory control of cigars. An extreme, yet real example of the many regulations that the FDA may employ, is a federal law being proposed in Australia which calls for “Plain Packaging” on all tobacco products, including cigars. The new rule would require all tobacco products to be placed in olive green packs, ban the inclusion of company brand or logo, but yet the package would still contain graphic health warnings. These types of brutal regulations are part of a global effort that will reach our shores through the FDA unless we stop it.
Given the politics of our cause, it's easy and frankly rational to get discouraged and surrender. But I'm reminded of my father's and grandfather's generation that were exiled from their native Cuba and had to start a brand new cigar industry from scratch. They lost their farms and cigar factories, but they started anew in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua, among other countries. They did not surrender. We will not surrender. I encourage all of you to support the legislation that is introduced in the House and Senate by signing the petition at cra.org.
While not all of you may have a son that wants to get into the cigar business, I'm sure you have sons and daughters that you look forward to sharing a cigar with in the future. Get involved and let's make it happen.
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Dan Carr, President of General Cigar, had this to say on the FDA fight:
Do you think CRA & IPCPR are doing a good job fighting the FDA?
We work closely with both the CRA and IPCPR to protect the rights of cigar smokers and to preserve the industry. Because the prospective FDA legislation poses a serious threat to the premium cigar industry, we have made our resources available to both organizations. As such, our dedicated federal and state lobbying teams are working to bolster the IPCPR and CRA's efforts in helping ensure passage of H.R.1639 and S.1461.
Do you think CRA and IPCPR will be successful in getting the bills passed given the current political climate, with the Occupy Wall Street movement growing, etc.?
While it is difficult to predict with certitude whether any piece of legislation will pass, we are confident that HR 1639 is a strong bill legislators will support and vote in favor of.
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Keep the fight going, and please feel free to leave a comment below, especially if you're a cigar manufacturer.
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