,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #baaa ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #ad1 #bjbe,mr4 ,donalds 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,langworthy1 ,ms4 ,titus1 and ,mr4 ,panetta7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act to exempt the premium cigar industry from certain regulations4 #a4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,premium cigars comprise only #a percent of all cigars sold in the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,most manufacturers of premium cigars are family-owned small businesses4 7#c7 ,premium cigars are typically sold in age-controlled retail establishments1 such as tobacco specialty shops or cigar bars4 7#d7 ,at the request of the ,food and ,drug ,administration and the ,national ,institutes of ,health1 the ,national ,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and ,medicine 7in this section referred to as the ,,nasem7 convened an expert committee to examine #d premium cigar topics3 product characteristics1 patterns of use1 marketing and perceptions1 and health effects4 7#e7 ,the ,,nasem expert committee produced a resulting report1 published in #bjbb and titled ,premium ,cigars3 ,patterns of ,use1 ,marketing1 and ,health ,effects1 which among other things1 identified numerous facts regarding premium cigar use4 7#f7 ,the ,,nasem expert committee found that premium cigars are only used by about #a percent of the ,united ,states adult population4 7#g7 ,the ,,nasem expert committee found that premium cigar use is less common among youth than among other users and only #j4f percent of those who reported smoking a premium cigar were under #ah years of age4 7#h7 ,the ,,nasem expert committee found that premium cigar use is less common among women1 non-,hispanic ,black persons1 and persons with less than a high school education than other users4 7#i7 ,the ,,nasem expert committee found that premium cigar users are less likely to smoke cigarettes or other cigar types concurrently than other cigar type users4 7#aj7 ,the ,,nasem expert committee found that the frequency and intensity of smoking is lower for premium cigars compared to other types of cigars and cigarettes4 7#aa7 ,the ,,nasem expert committee found that as compared to users of other types of cigars1 premium cigar users are more likely to be never or former cigarette smokers4 7#ab7 ,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 smoke4 7#ac7 ,the ,,nasem expert committee found that premium cigars are used virtually exclusively by adults1 premium cigar use is extremely limited1 and premium cigar use poses less physical risk than the use of other tobacco products4 7#ad7 ,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 ,p4 ,mehta1 of the ,united ,states ,district ,court for the ,district of ,columbia1 in a recent decision striking the latest attempt by the ,food and ,drug ,administration to regulate premium cigars4 7#ae7 ,the narrower definition adopted by ,judge ,mehta is the definition that would apply if this bill were enacted4 7#af7 ,the ,district ,court concluded that the few health risks posed by premium cigars can be regulated at the ,state level4 #b4 ,exemption of premium cigars from certain tobacco regulation in ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act ,section #bja7rr7 of the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #cba7rr77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#f7 7,a7 ,the term tobacco product does not mean a premium cigar4 7,b7 ,in clause 7,a71 the term premium cigar means a cigar that-- 7i7 is wrapped in whole tobacco leaf2 7ii7 contains a #ajj percent leaf tobacco binder2 7iii7 contains at least #ej percent 7of the filler by weight7 long filler tobacco 7whole tobacco leaves that run the length of the cigar72 7iv7 is handmade or hand rolled1 meaning no machinery was used apart from simple tools1 such as scissors to cut the tobacco prior to rolling2 7v7 has no filter1 nontobacco tip1 or nontobacco mouthpiece2 7vi7 does not have a characterizing flavor other than tobacco2 7vii7 contains only tobacco1 water1 and vegetable gum with no other ingredients or additives2 and 7viii7 weighs more than #f pounds per #a1jjj units4 4