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Representative Castor to File Bill Allowing Cigar Donations to the Military

On August 29th, 2016, the Tampa Bay Times reported that Representative Kathy Castor, a Democrat representing Tampa, Florida, plans to file a bill allowing cigar donations to U.S. Military members.

The new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (FUFDA) regulations prohibit the donation of cigars by the cigar industry. Requests for cigar donations are one of the top requests from our deployed U.S. Military members. Prior to the new regulations, the cigar industry donated thousands and thousand of cigars to our troops.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Castor sent a letter to Thompson Cigar Co. stating that she plans to file a bill to “specifically address allowing charitable contributions of premium cigars to U.S. military members and non-profit organizations that support them.” In the letter, Castor stated, “FDA’s regulations are unreasonable and I will do everything I can to change them so that our troops do not miss out on the generosity of companies like yours.”

Isn’t it crazy that you can die for your country in a foreign land fighting for our freedom but the FDA won’t allow the cigar industry to donate cigars to our troops to enjoy while deployed? I’m guessing there aren’t a whole lot of FDA employees that ever served our country. . .

We applaud Representative Castor on her efforts to stop the FDA’s overreach and allow cigar manufacturers and retailers to donate cigars to our troops.

You can view the original Tampa Bay Times article HERE.

If you’d like to donate cigars or money to our Military members, we highly recommend donating to Operation Cigars for Warriors, a 501(c) 3 approved charity. Luckily, the FDA can’t prohibit cigar smokers from donating cigars! Operation Cigars for Warriors has two priorities: 1) collecting then dispersing premium cigars and accessories to American Service Men and Women serving in combat zones (Air, Land and Sea), and 2) American Service Men and Women on long term deployments OCONUS in 3rd world environments and other appropriate Areas of Operations to be dealt with on a case by case basis.

c.gar

c.gar loves all things cigar-related. He typically falls in love with cigars that are discontinued shortly thereafter. His first cigar was a Swisher Sweet with a wood tip. Sadly, these are still in production.

2 thoughts on “Representative Castor to File Bill Allowing Cigar Donations to the Military

  • Smokey Butts

    Apparently I never put 2 and 2 together to come to the realization that cigar manufacturers could no longer donate to Cigars For Warriors under the new FDA regulations.

    Damn you FDA.

    Stop trying to protect me from myself.

    If you need some suggestions on things you could actually spend your time on that would help Americans please drop me a line. Maybe you could start with sugar content in the food that’s in the grocery store or why you think polypropylene is safe for me to consume but every other country in the world has all but banned it.

    Reply
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