Competition Heats Up As Cuban Cigars Come to the U.S.

NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt recently featured a segment on Cuban cigars and their impact on the U.S. cigar market. NBC Nightly News interviewed a retail cigar representative in Cuba, as well as Eric Newman of J.C. Newman Cigar Company based in Ybor City, FL. The segment highlighted the contradiction of the FDA regulating cigars sold in the U.S. while the State Department allows Americans to return from Cuba with up to $800 in Cuban cigars without applying the FDA regulations.

I must admit I am enjoying the ability to get Cuban cigars brought back from Cuba by friends visiting the formerly forbidden cigar fruit island. However, this holds a distinct disadvantage for non-Cuban manufacturers trying to do business in the U.S. Hopefully, the U.S. Government will get their proverbial sh&t together and level the playing field. And with any luck, the leveling of the field will come from elimination of the FDA regulation of premium cigars!