Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia ruled that the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" when it failed to evaluate evidence when determining how to regulate premium cigars.
This ruling allows for a slight sigh of temporary relief when it comes to the FDA's ability to regulate cigars. In Judge Mehta's ruling, he agreed that the FDA had not done an adequate job of considering all studies and data regarding the health risks associated with smoking premium cigars. He even went to the point of citing that there was, "no evidence" that premium cigars posed any different health risks and that, "there is in fact pertinent record evidence and the agency ignores and overlooks it."
One such study submitted by the cigar industry even cited, with data, that young people are unlikely to use premium cigars, that smokers of premium cigars are unlikely to smoke them frequently, and even furthermore, that their use is not associated with addiction or increased mortality.
Does this mean that the cigar industry has won and that the FDA will not be able to interfere or have any part in the cigar industry, absolutely not. What this means is there could be an end to some cigars being regulated while others are not. This means that a big win could be in the future, but for now we don't know that answer.
If you would like to read the full ruling, it can be found here.
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