AboutBill Finck Jr. Expertise I'm a fourth generation cigar maker and have spent 25+ years operating our factory as well as a mail order cigar company. I belong to cigar manufacturers associations as well as retail cigar associations so I'm usually up to date with current events relating to cigars. I've smoked the majority of brands on the market and would be happy to share my opinions of them with you. Since I live in the U.S. I have very little experience with Cuban cigars, but other than that I know a least a little bit about almost every brand of cigars on the market.
Experience In addition to growing up in and now managing our cigar factory for 25+ years, I've spent time in many factories in Honduras, Nicaragua, The Dominican Republic and Mexico. BR> Organizations Cigar Association of America, Retail Tobacco Dealers Association
I was wondering what you thought about the new law that bans cigarette flavorings and allows the FDA to regulate the tobacco industry. Are you worried it will affect cigars one day? Do you think it will hurt the tobacco industry?
Answer Jason,
It looks like there is a good chance that the ban will eventually extend to cigars. Small cigars are already being looked at, and in some cases states are treating them as cigarettes. I'm not a big believer that cigars like Tatiana are causing kids to start smoking - how many kids can afford a $4 premium cigar? However, a brand like Phillies that comes in 31 flavors like Baskin %26 Robbins ice cream and has the reputation of being used to smoke marijuana is a different story. The big problem is how does the FDA separate them - and I don't have a good answer. If we do see a ban on all flavored cigars, we can thank the makers of the flavored "blunt" type cigars for bringing that regulation on us...
