Just got this. Is this a new one?
ANTI-CIGAR LEGISLATION - TAKE ACTION NOW
Houston, we have a problem. The U.S. Senate has amended a House bill (H. R. 4520) to include a provision which would give the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) authority over all tobacco products - including cigars and pipe tobacco. Their reasoning is that they want to protect kids from cigarettes. Yet they have included two products used overwhelmingly by adults.
Even the FDA, when it made the ill-fated attempt to regulate tobacco products on its own in 1996, specifically chose to exclude cigars and pipe tobacco because it had no evidence of significant usage by youth, nor did it have sufficient evidence that they were drug delivery devices.
To pay for this new increase in the federal bureaucracy, "user fees" - a fancy term for "taxes" -- will be assessed on all tobacco manufacturers and importers - which of course will be passed on to "users" such as yourself. The cigar industry in particular has been singled out for punitively large tax increases. Additionally, cigar companies will also be forced to pass along the increased costs inevitable in trying to comply with new government regulations and standards.
Furthermore, the measure contains provisions which will have a direct, negative impact on mail order/internet sales and this will further increase the price of the tobacco products which you purchase from us.
Cigars and pipe tobacco are used overwhelmingly by adult men. Kids don't smoke these products, nor do these industries advertise to kids. Actually, the majority of cigar advertising is geared toward premium, handmade cigars in adult-lifestyle publications. Furthermore, government studies have found that the vast majority of cigar smokers - anywhere from 75% to 89% -- are occasional smokers.
We need your help. Please contact the following senators and congressmen and urge them to keep cigars and pipe tobacco out of the FDA legislation to regulate cigarettes. The attached sample letter will give you some guidance on what to say. The fastest and most effective means of communicating are, in order of importance, 1) by e-mail 2) by phone 3) by FAX and 4) by mail.
Sample Letter
Dear Senator/Congressman:
I strongly oppose the inclusion of cigars and pipe tobacco in the FDA provisions in H.R. 4520, which will be debated this fall by a House-Senate conference committee. And I oppose the punitive new taxes to pay for that regulation and for the costly new bureaucracy which would impose them.
Senate sponsors say this legislation is needed to protect kids from cigarettes. Yet they have included two products which are used overwhelmingly by adults. Ironically, when the Food & Drug Administration attempted to regulate tobacco on its own in 1996, they chose specifically to exclude cigars and pipe tobacco because they found that 1) there was insufficient evidence of significant usage by youth and 2) there was insufficient evidence that these products were drug delivery devices under the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act.
The Senate proposal will impose a significant hardship on these industries and their customers in the form of punitive "user fees" and the additional costs of complying with new government regulations and standards.
Please keep cigars and pipe tobacco out of the FDA provisions in H.R. 4520.
Yours truly,
Here is a list of all contacts:
HR 4520 Conferees and Leadership
Senate appointed conferee(s) Fax Number Phone Number Contact Email
Chuck Grassley (R-IA) 202-224-6020 202-224-3744 Ken Cunningham [email protected]
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) 202-224-6331 202-224-5251 Patricia Knight [email protected]
Don Nickles (R-OK) 202-224-6008 202-224-5754 Bret Bernhardt [email protected]
Trent Lott (R-MS) 202-224-2262 202-224-6253 William Gottshall [email protected]
Olympia Snowe (R-ME) 202-224-1946 202-224-5344 John Richter [email protected]
Jon Kyl (R-AZ) 202-224-2207 202-224-4521 Tim Glazewski [email protected]
Craig Thomas (R-WY) 202-224-1724 202-224-6441 Shawn Whitman [email protected]
Rick Santorum (R-PA) 202-228-0604 202-224-6324 Michael Hershey [email protected]
Gordon Smith (R-OR) 202-228-3997 202-224-3753 John Easton [email protected]
Jim Bunning (R-KY) 202-228-1373 202-224-4343 Jon Deuser [email protected]
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 202-224-2499 202-224-2541 Billy Piper [email protected]
Judd Gregg (R-NH) 202-224-4952 202-224-3324 Joel Maiola [email protected]
Max Baucus (D-MT) 202-224-4700 202-224-2651 Zak Andersen [email protected]
John Rockefeller (D-WV) 202-224-7665 202-224-6472 Kerry Ates [email protected]
Tom Daschle (D-SD) 202-224-6603 202-224-2321 Laura Petrou [email protected]
John Breaux 202-228-2577 202-224-4623 Fred Hatfield [email protected]
Kent Conrad (D-ND) 202-224-7776 202-224-2043 Robert Van Heuvelen [email protected]
Bob Graham (D-FL) 202-224-2237 202-224-3041 Henry Menn [email protected]
Jim Jeffords (I-VT) N/A 202-224-5141 Bill Kurtz [email protected]
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) 202-224-2852 202-224-5521 Stephan Ward [email protected]
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) 202-228-1371 202-224-4843 Steve Patterson [email protected]
Edward Kennedy (D-MA) 202-224-2417 202-224-4543 Danica Petroshius [email protected]
Tom Harkin (D-IA) 202-224-9369 202-224-3254 Peter Reinecke [email protected]
Senate Leadership
Bill Frist (R-TN) 202-228-1264 202-224-3344 Howard Liebengood [email protected]
Tom Daschle (D-SD) 202-224-6603 202-224-2321 Laura Petrou [email protected]
Harry Reid (D-NV) 202-224-7327 202-224-3542 Kai Anderson [email protected]
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 202-224-2499 202-224-2541 Billy Piper [email protected]
House Leadership
Dennis Hastert (R-IL) 202-225-0697 202-225-2976 Scott Palmer [email protected]
Tom Delay (R-TX) 202-225-5241 202-225-5951 Tim Berry [email protected]
Roy Blunt (R-MO) 202-225-5604 202-225-6536 Amy Field [email protected]
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA 202-225-8259 202-225-4965 Terri McCullough [email protected]
Steny Hoyer (D-MD) 202-225-4300 202-225-4131 Cory Alexander [email protected]
Likely House Conferees
Bill Thomas (R-CA) 202-225-8798 202-225-2915 James Min [email protected]
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) 202-225-9681 202-225-5431 Shelley Husband [email protected]
John Boehner (R-OH) 202-225-0704 202-225-6205 Mike Sommers [email protected]
Charles Stenholm (D-TX) 202-225-2234 202-225-6605 Stephen Haterius [email protected]
Bill Jenkins (R-TN) 202-225-5714 202-225-6356 Brenda Otterson [email protected]
Joe Barton (R-TX) 202-225-3052 202-225-2002 Heather Couri [email protected]
Michael Bilirakis (R-FL) 202-225-4085 202-225-5755 Rebecca Hyder [email protected]
John Dingell (D-MI) 202-2256-0371 202-225-4071 Rick Kessler [email protected]
Charles Rangel (D-NY) 202-225-0816 202-225-4365 George Dalley [email protected]
Philip Crane (R-IL) 202-225-7830 202-225-3711 Michele Taulton [email protected]
E. Clay Shaw Jr. (R-FL) 202-225-8398 202-225-3026 Eric Eikenberg [email protected]
Nancy Johnson (R-CT) 202-225-4488 202-225-4476 Dave Karvelas [email protected]
Amo Houghton (R-NY) 202-225-5574 202-225-3161 Bob Van Wicklin [email protected]
Pete Stark (D-CA) 202-226-3805 202-225-5065 Debbie Curtis [email protected]
George Miller (D-CA) 202-225-5609 202-225-2095 Daniel Weiss [email protected]
