Regulators Throughout American History Have Been Reluctant To Regulate Cigars And The FDA Still Is Today, But Why?

In this article I explore the history of cigar regulation, going back to colonial times, yet focusing on the current regulatory climate. I review the different regulations imposed on tobacco products throughout American history, concluding that government regulators were never particularly serious about regulating tobacco products until the release of the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health. However, I point out that this Report was so obsessed with the health hazards of cigarettes that it actually had the unintended consequence of promoting In the long run the increased consumption of cigars. Today, health organizations show intense frustration with the FDA’s current refusal to regulate cigars, even though the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act gave the FDA regulatory jurisdiction over cigars. But applying a totality of circumstances test, looking at the politics, economics, and even the lack of enough credible health studies on cigars, I conclude, somewhat surprisingly, that there are very good reasons why the FDA should probably not at this time jump into the regulatory arena and impose the same sort of tough regulations on cigars as imposed on cigarettes