LOOKING OUT FOR THE LITTLE GUY: Small business owner: FDA rules threaten Florida heritage of hand-rolled cigars.

The FDA recently released its long-dreaded rule that asserted the agency’s authority to regulate a wide variety of nicotine-delivery products. Much of the media attention zeroed in on the fairly new vaping, or “e-cigarette,” industry. By the FDA’s own admission, its new rule would make 98.5 percent of those products on the market illegal. What has been largely missed by the media, but not the small business owners like my wife and me, is that these regulations would devastate the hand-rolled cigar industry.

The new FDA rules would force all new premium cigars to undergo a “pre-market review process.” This process requires that manufacturers prove their products meet certain requirements before they can go to market by submitting hundreds if not thousands of hours of paperwork per product. Since the FDA defines new cigars to include new blends, which can change seasonally for smaller manufacturers, the compliance costs could overwhelm many small-cigar businesses.

This isn’t about promoting health; it’s about securing money and power.