Hahahahaha I had no idea Perdomo made a cigar called the ISOM. Well, how clever of them. It's definitely to be Grandfathered in and indeed is a sign of what cigars to expect! Ok, I jest, but hey, have to have a little levity.

Well played on the Perdomo ISOM, well played.
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There is another reason I am gloom and doom.

The smaller producers in several countries will have to decide very quickly whether to plant for the next season.

That has suddenly become a very risky proposition, and that means a high cost of capital will add to business woes.
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Unfortunately it looks like if the embargo ever does end, HSA will have to also go through the approval process since their products were not marketed in the US before 2007. They may be able to argue their products were available before the embargo but I don't think that will work.

I think events like Big Smoke may still be able to provide cigars by saying the price of admission is paying for the cigars. I just don't know what is going to happen to the boutique brands who really do make the best NC's on the market today.
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A lot of B&M's are going to be closing their doors soon if this sticks. that sucks
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The sky isn't falling. This has to pass congress and be signed by the president. This is currently an amendment on the 2017 Ag Appropriation Bill which is in it's very beginning stages. Most of the time one of two things happens: 1) the Ag Bill (Farm Bill) doesn't pass and they pass a continuing resolution to use last years bill. This happened for ten years in the 90s and early 2000s. 2) Amendments like this always get revised significantly before their voted on.

It seems like the February 2007 date is arbitrary. It's not. E-cigs didn't exist before this date, therefore this is all about e-cigs and some genius wanted to add cigars. The cigars portion will get taken out before it gets to the floor for a vote.

Finally, there is a very important clause in all of this that says premium cigars may be exempt.

This won't change anything other than create panic. This is an amendment on a bill proposed by two congressmen and has passed a sub-committee (which they all do). That's all it is at this point. Even if the bill passes the house with this amendment, then they begin negotiating a final Farm Bill with the Senate. The cigar portion won't get very far.
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You didn't miss much, it was not one of Nick's better cigars.

Image
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Unfortunately, it does not have to pass congress. The FDA was given this power by the Tobacco Control Act. This has been approved by the White House. There could be a Congressional review and they could pass a resolution stating the FDA has gone outside the intent Congress originally granted them via the Tobacco Control Act. But even if that happened, the White House will most certainly veto it which means Congress would have to get 2/3rds vote in both the Senate and the House to override the veto.

However, the proposed FY 2017 Appropriations bill does exempt premium cigars and/or changes the date from Feb 2007 to Aug 2016 which will overturn this decision but that does have to go through the process you mentioned. Even if it does pass it will happen after the Aug 2016 deadline so some of this will go into effect.
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How bout blunts?
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just rumors, that amount of $ isn't justifiable and won't hold up in court anyway.

Companies like Altars and General are supporting this FDA ruling, boycot them! Oh btw, Liga = Swisser, they got enough $ to keep liga's in stores
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So big tobacco will hike their prices to cover the cost and the little man will be crushed, and the FDA blamed, leaving the big guys innocently shrugging.

Yeah, I can see that. I've heard complaints that the boutique brands just cut the pie smaller. Pie restored, big boys happy
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Apparently one hundred and twenty applications have been filed with the FDA by cigarette manufacturers since 2012 (under a similar "approval" process).

Anyone care to guess how many new cigarettes got approved in the past four years?

Drumroll....

Two.

Those two were only approved after Lorilland hired some high price attorneys and successfully sued the FDA. The FDA had to approve _something_ to demonstrate to the court that the approval process wasn't a total sham.

Of course it is a sham--buy hey this is DC we are talking about here. :-)

The OP on this thread has it correct.

This is the law of the land unless Congress and the President change it (or Congress overrides a Presidential veto). Most cigar growers, blenders, manufacturers and distributors will have found other day jobs long before that happens.

Most cigar shops will close.

I just pulled out my old Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars, NC 2006 version to see what the grandfathering smokes would be.

More than 95% of the smokes in the book no longer exist.

So what is left?
Fuentes (some of them including Opus X and Anejos and Hemingways)
Padrons (most of those)
La Flor Dominicana 2000, Ligero, Double Ligero
Litto Gomez
Oliva O (none of the others)
Davidoffs-NC
CAO Brazilia, Criollo, Gold, Italia, MX2 (that's all)
Camacho Corojo (none of the others)
Don Pepin Garcia Blacks (do they make those still?--none of the others)
Rocky Patel Sun Grown (and Edge and 1990 and 1992 vintage if they still make them)
plus a bunch of Altadis (boo!-except Partagas black I like)

FYI.
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Big Tobacco (read: Altadis & STG/General) have supported this FDA move. They can afford the costs of the testing and see most of their competition wiped away.
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Shocker. It exterminates all their competition. :-)
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https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pet...andmade-cigars

everybody should sign this
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