Miami cigar company joins Altria in suing FDA

Another company has issued a legal challenge to Food and Drug Administration regulations on tobacco products.

Global Premium Cigars LLC of Miami sued the FDA on Wednesday over how the rules affect trademarked and copyrighted artwork on its cigar boxes.

The rules require labels that could constitute up to 30 percent of the box.

Global also complains about being subjected to the Feb. 15, 2007, predicate date for having a tobacco product in the marketplace.

Products introduced into the marketplace after the predicate date — including almost every electronic cigarette — would have to retroactively go through stiffer regulatory requirements to prove they don’t cause public harm. That includes providing more details on liquid nicotine ingredients and manufacturing details.

On May 26, Henrico-based Altria Group Inc. filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the FDA’s recent ban on using the word “mild” for cigar and pipe tobacco products.

The lawsuit argues that the ban violates the First Amendment’s protection of trademarks and brand names and the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition on taking private property for public use without compensation.

Altria is the parent company of John Middleton Co., which for 40 years has manufactured and sold cigars and pipe tobacco under the “Black & Mild” brand name.

At least four lawsuits have been filed against the FDA’s new regulations, which are projected to go into effect Aug. 8. Vaporizer companies have filed the other two.

Resource : http://www.richmond.com/business/local/article_a1787baf-9085-59c2-be2d-cd04a6ea8418.html