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Cass' interaction with customers could also change under federal regulations, putting the cigars behind the counter rather than in a humidor where customers can smell, touch and see a variety of cigars. In Canada, for example, cigar shops now have binders with a list of available cigars that customers can point to on a piece of paper. Cass and Spann have joined with others in the cigar industry to seek a change in Congress to protect premium hand-rolled cigars from FDA regulation and save 85,000 small business jobs around the country. Resolutions in both the House and the Senate remain in committee. In the House, the resolution sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, a Republican from Florida
-- home to many of the nation's premium cigar makers -- has gained more than 200 co-sponsors. The Senate resolution, sponsored by Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, also from Florida, has more than 10 co-sponsors. As far as regulation is concerned, the greatest need is to "put an end to the production and marketing of products that have the greatest appeal to youth," said Matt Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, singling out machine-made large cigars, little cigars and tobacco wrappers that sold at convenience stores for low prices and in a variety of flavors like peach and strawberry. Nearly 19 percent of high school boys currently smoke cigars, according to the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. That's slightly less than the 2005 rate of 19.2 percent. "These highly flavored little cigars clearly appeal disproportionately to young people and have the potential to serve as starter tobacco products," Myers said. While all cigars increase the risk of disease, Myers said "the FDA has the ability to segment which cigar products pose the greatest risk both in terms of disease and in terms of youth use and to design regulations appropriate for each, which is what we'd like to see them do." Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc., owner of Black & Mild cigar maker John Middleton, said in a statement that if the FDA asserts regulation over cigars, it should be "science-based and apply to all cigar manufacturers." Machine-made Black & Mild cigars and cigarillos are sold in flavor varieties such as sweet, wine and apple. Altria also owns the nation's biggest tobacco company and maker of top-selling Marlboro cigarettes, Philip Morris USA. But for Rocky Patel, who quit his job as an entertainment lawyer in California to start a boutique cigar business out of his garage, legislative or regulatory exemption of premium handmade cigars is vital to his survival and the about 2,000 people he directly or indirectly employs. "I gave up a law practice to start this dream ... I worked relentlessly and built this company and started with nothing," Patel said of his Florida-based cigar company. "We went from making 100,000 cigars to about 18 million cigars (each year) and all this could be taken away with the stroke of a pen from the FDA."
[Associated
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