IA 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 99 

To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exempt the premium 

cigar industry from certain regulations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 9, 2023 

Mr. DONALDS (for himself, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. CUELLAR, Ms. TITUS, Mr. 

GALLEGO, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, and Mr. LANGWORTHY) 

submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to 

exempt the premium cigar industry from certain regulations. 

Whereas premium cigars comprise only 1 percent of all cigars 

sold in the United States; 

Whereas most manufacturers of premium cigars are familyowned small businesses; 

Whereas manufacturers of premium cigars help support many 

communities in Central America, thereby lessening the 

southern border crisis; 

Whereas premium cigars are typically sold in age-controlled 

retail establishments, such as tobacco specialty shops or 

cigar bars; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HJ 99 IH 

Whereas at the request of the Food and Drug Administration 

and the National Institutes of Health, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (in this resolution referred to as the ‘‘NASEM’’) convened an expert 

committee to examine 4 premium cigar topics: product 

characteristics, patterns of use, marketing and perceptions, and health effects; 

Whereas the NASEM expert committee produced a resulting 

report, published in 2022 and titled ‘‘Premium Cigars: 

Patterns of Use, Marketing, and Health Effects’’, which 

among other things, identified numerous facts regarding 

premium cigar use; 

Whereas the NASEM expert committee found that premium 

cigars are only used by about 1 percent of the United 

States adult population; 

Whereas the NASEM expert committee found that premium 

cigar use is less common among youth than among other 

users and only 0.6 percent of those who reported smoking 

a premium cigar were under 18 years of age; 

Whereas the NASEM expert committee found that premium 

cigar use is less common among women, non-Hispanic 

Black persons, and persons with less than a high school 

education than other users; 

Whereas the NASEM expert committee found that premium 

cigar users are less likely to smoke cigarettes or other 

cigar types concurrently than other cigar type users; 

Whereas the NASEM expert committee found that the frequency and intensity of smoking is lower for premium cigars compared to other types of cigars and cigarettes; 

Whereas the NASEM expert committee found that as compared to users of other types of cigars, premium cigar 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HJ 99 IH 

users are more likely to be never or former cigarette 

smokers; 

Whereas the NASEM expert committee found that there is 

strongly suggestive evidence that the health consequences 

of premium cigar smoking overall are likely to be less 

than those of smoking other types of cigars because the 

majority of premium cigar smokers are nondaily or occasional users and because they are unlikely to inhale the 

smoke; 

Whereas the NASEM expert committee found that premium 

cigars are used virtually exclusively by adults, premium 

cigar use is extremely limited, and premium cigar use 

poses less physical risk than the use of other tobacco 

products; 

Whereas the definition of premium cigar used by the NASEM 

expert committee is broader and would encompass a larger class of cigars than the definition adopted by Judge 

Amit P. Mehta, of the United States District Court for 

the District of Columbia, in a recent decision striking the 

latest attempt by the Food and Drug Administration to 

regulate premium cigars; 

Whereas the narrower definition adopted by Judge Mehta is 

the definition that would apply if this resolution were enacted; and 

Whereas the District Court concluded that the few health 

risks posed by premium cigars can be regulated at the 

State level: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HJ 99 IH 

1 SECTION 1. EXEMPTION OF PREMIUM CIGARS FROM CER2 TAIN TOBACCO REGULATION IN FEDERAL 

3 FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT. 

4 Section 201(rr) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos5 metic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(rr)) is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(6)(A) The term ‘tobacco product’ does not mean 

8 a premium cigar. 

9 ‘‘(B) In clause (A), the term ‘premium cigar’ means 

10 a cigar that— 

11 ‘‘(i) is wrapped in whole tobacco leaf; 

12 ‘‘(ii) contains a 100 percent leaf tobacco binder; 

13 ‘‘(iii) contains at least 50 percent (of the filler 

14 by weight) long filler tobacco (whole tobacco leaves 

15 that run the length of the cigar); 

16 ‘‘(iv) is handmade or hand rolled, meaning no 

17 machinery was used apart from simple tools, such as 

18 scissors to cut the tobacco prior to rolling; 

19 ‘‘(v) has no filter, nontobacco tip, or nontobacco 

20 mouthpiece; 

21 ‘‘(vi) does not have a characterizing flavor other 

22 than tobacco; 

23 ‘‘(vii) contains only tobacco, water, and vege24 table gum with no other ingredients or additives; 

25 and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HJ 99 IH 

1 ‘‘(viii) weighs more than 6 pounds per 1,000 

2 units.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB