There is proposals, and then there are trial balloons sent up to see what way the wind is blowing,
Cigars by themselves are not a big deal, but the anti tobbacco party wants to end a life style that shows tobbacco in a postive light,
So not only do they ban smoking, they also ban the sponsor ship of a number of different activities. Sooner or later, cigars would have shown up on someones radar, both the product and the lifestyle that it either promotes or is thought to promote.
Declan
Thank you for the clarification.
His outrage is recreational. I believe that means that he does not intend to defend his hyperbolic title, nor does he intend to explain the fact that the FDA is only proposing to alter some regulations on cigars (a cancer causing product) at this point.
Ah, I misunderstood. I guess there is no debate here.
I don’t think you know the meaning of term “Recreational Outrage”. It doesn’t mean outrage at fictitious things.
But I was going to be recreationally outraged at Newt Gingrich’s study of Satanic magic. 
If you really want freedom to buy cigars, why not leave the low-hanging target of FDA who wants to make sure that kids don’t get addicted and instead go after the real scandal of Cuban cigars being banned in the US because of the lobby efforts of rich Cubans in exile? You’re missing a whole world of cigars just because of a small group, and making smugglers rich.
That’s simply a byproduct of the ban on all Cuban-sourced goods. In the grand scheme of things, it hardly matters that you can’t buy a Cohiba in the US when you can’t buy pork or milk or crude oil or anything else from Cuba.
I remember hearing the same alarmism when they banned the walk-in microwave oven.
One thing this thread has confirmed for me:
When someone uses the term “nanny state” in a post or a title (in a non-ironic way), its usually a safe bet that they have the facts wrong, or have misinterpreted something.
And believe me, you haven’t lived until you’ve tried authentic Cuban pierna de cerdo con leche y crudo.
That’s easy. It’s to Protect The Employees. Think of the poor minimum wage stock boy who has to restock the humidor while you and your rich buddies are puffing away. Why, he would die of lung cancer before he got home that night. Shame on you.
Is this an example of more made-up stuff to be outraged at? In other words, is it a made-up reason for something that never existed in the first place, as it was not even in the FDA regulations?
Are you serious or are you being ironic or what? It’s so hard to tell these days…
The FDA did announce it’s intent to regulate cigars the same as cigarettes. This would include flavors, face-to-face sales only, self-serve displays and smoking indoors.
In response, enthusiasts have come up with HR1639 the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act. This Act would essentially tell the FDA to stay away from cigars.
The following can found at: Federal Register, Volume 75 Issue 79 (Monday, April 26, 2010)
Legal Authority: 21 USC 301 et seq, The Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act; PL 111-31, The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco
Control Act
Abstract: The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (the
Tobacco Control Act) provides FDA authority to regulate cigarettes,
cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and smokeless tobacco.
Section 901 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by
the Tobacco Control Act, permits FDA to issue regulations deeming other
tobacco products to be subject to the Tobacco Control Act. This
proposed rule would deem cigars to be subject to the Tobacco Control
Act and include provisions to address public health concerns raised by
cigars.
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
NPRM 06/00/10
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes
Agency Contact: May Nelson, Regulatory Counsel, Department of Health
and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park,
MD 20740
Phone: 877 287-1373
Fax: 240 276-3904
Email: may.nelson@fda.hhs.gov
RIN: 0910-AG38
[[Page 21795]]
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Final Rule Stage
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Here’s a pretty good blog post that explains it all pretty well:
Yet another blog post… and an ugly and buggy one at that.
Look, we understand your concern. And we are all well aware of the pending Act (I mentioned it in the third post in this thread). We have also acknowledged that current legislation allows the regulation of cigars and cigar tobacco.
But there is nothing in the current FDA regulations about banning walk-in humidors, smoking indoors, or person-to-person sales.
I’m struggling to figure out why this would be a bad thing. They’re basically the same thing – tobacco wrapped in something, that is subsequently lit, smoked and smells like shit.
In fact, about the only difference that I can identify is that, while cigarettes do indeed smell like shit, cigars actually smell a little more like shit dipped in sewage than anything else.
No. I was simply parroting the argument that anti-smoking groups use to counter the argument for allowing smoking in bars. The argument is similar to the OP: only adults are allowed in bars, everyone walking in knows that smoking is permitted, etc.
The retort to that argument is that the poor bartenders and servers working in these places should not be subjected to second hand smoke.
I disagree with the argument, but the OPs statement that only adults go in humidors therefore smoking should be permitted, has been tried and failed.
Walk-in humidors are generally not for smoking. They’re for look at cigars, and picking out the one you want. If the feds banned smoking in walk-in humidors, it might piss a few people off, but it wouldn’t change much of anything. The OP is claiming that the feds want to ban walk-in humidors. That’s entirely different from banning smoking in walk-in humidors. And besides, there isn’t any need for an employee even to be in the humidor other than for security reasons. Cameras can do that.
I don’t get what the confusion is here. If the FDA regulates cigars the same as cigarettes then humidors will be outlawed as they are considered self-serve displays. You will not be able to touch or smell a cigar before you purchase it from behind a counter.