Tampa cigar business tied to which way FDA rolls on regulations

It was the Cuba embargo that ended Tampa’s reign as cigar capital of the world.

Without access to the fine tobacco grown on the island nation, every Tampa cigar factory except the J.C. Newman Cigar Co. closed down.

Now the prospect of ending the embargo after five decades has raised hopes of saving the last vestige of that era.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is drafting a regulatory process to approve new cigars entering the U.S. market. Industry leaders, however, say the rules appear so strict that they would have to pull most stock from their shelves and that creating blends would prove too expensive.

J.C. Newman said it might have to close.

The regulations would apply to foreign-made cigars, too — perhaps, one day, to now-banned Cuba imports.

And that is where hope lies, say some in the industry.

They think progress made under the initiative by President Barack Obama to normalize relations with Cuba will lead Congress to end the embargo and the FDA to adopt less restrictive regulations on premium cigars. Cigars from Cuba and those made by Newman are classified as premium.

“Look at this through the eyes of the president,” said Jeff Borysiewicz, owner of Corona Cigar Co. in Orlando and co-founder of Cigar Rights of America, an advocacy group for premium cigars. “If the embargo ends, the No. 1 thing people will ask is where they can get Cuban cigars. But if these regulations pass, they may not be found here — maybe ever.”

Some in Washington expect the new regulations could be announced as early as this month.

Still, Eric Newman, president of J.C. Newman Cigar Co., won’t let the prospect of ruin darken a week when his family is being honored by the Ybor City Lions Club with the Victor E. DiMaio Annual Achievement Award. The banquet is at 6 p.m. today at the Columbia Restaurant.

“It could pass this month. It could pass last month. It could pass tomorrow or yesterday,” Newman said. “Whenever the final ruling comes out, we will develop a strategy for moving forward. We remain dedicated to staying in Tampa.”

Vince Willmore, a spokesman in Washington for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said his organization expects this could be the month the FDA’s regulations finally are made public.

The agency will want to do so before Obama’s final term ends in January, Willmore said. To ensure the regulations have enough time for approval by then, they need to be introduced by mid-May.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has had an FDA recommendation in hand for five months, he said. The review process was supposed to take no more than 90 days. Obama has urged tougher tobacco regulation during his administration.

The FDA would not comment on when the new regulations might be announced.

Predicting what the FDA will do is a “fool’s errand,” said Bryan Haynes, a partner with the Atlanta-based law firm Troutman Sanders, who represents tobacco companies.

The FDA initially said the regulations would be announced last summer, and Haynes predicted it would be by the end of March.

Still, Haynes sees Obama’s new Cuba policy as key to the shape of the final regulations.

“The administration would be talking out of both sides of its mouth,” he said. “On one hand it is interested in thawing relations with Cuba, but on other hand, FDA regulations would effectively ban their most important export.”

Tampa has much riding on the decision, said Gene Siudut, president of the Ybor City Lions Club, because of what it means for the Newman family’s future here.

“Not only are they an important part of our history, but they have helped preserve our history,” said Siudut, pointing to the cigar museum in the Newman factory at 2701 N. 16th St. “They are a community staple. It would be a shame if the FDA stole them from us.”

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Tampa cigar business tied to which way FDA rolls on regulations