Across the country, premium cigars are increasingly being swept into “flavor ban” legislation aimed at an entirely different set of products.

Premium cigars do not come in flavors. They are not infused with candy, fruit, or synthetic additives. They are handmade products crafted from whole-leaf tobacco, fermented and aged using traditional methods that naturally produce flavors akin to those we often see associated with wine and spirits.

The disconnect between naturally occurring flavors and artificial flavorings is at the heart of the problem now unfolding in state legislatures, as policy proposals are being introduced that do not make that distinction.

From Outliers to a National Pattern

Over the past year, Cigar Rights of America tracked a small number of state-level flavor ban proposals that departed from traditional approaches. Unlike historical flavor bans, which focused on products containing added or artificial flavorings, these new proposals relied on broader, more subjective standards that largely centered on speech. While none advanced far enough to become law, they signaled an emerging shift in how flavor restrictions were being conceived.

In the opening weeks of 2026, the legislative landscape has shifted. Flavor ban proposals are no longer isolated as multiple bills have carried over from last session, and new measures have already been introduced in New Jersey, Washington, and Hawaii, with additional proposals expected as more states convene.

The stated target of these bills is clear, as lawmakers are responding to concerns about youth access to flavored vaping products and low-cost, mass-market nicotine items designed for rapid consumption. In that context, the concern is not without merit.

The problem is the way the proposals are drafted. Rather than narrowly defining “flavored” products based on additives or chemical composition, these proposals rely on subjective standards, such as marketing language and consumer and media descriptions. In the context of these bills, these standards are being accepted as prima facie evidence that a product is flavored.

Under that framework, premium cigars become collateral damage. Descriptors like “cocoa,” “coffee,” or “spice” are not flavors added to premium cigars; they are long-standing sensory terms used to describe the natural characteristics of fermented tobacco.

Treating those descriptors as identical to intentionally introduced fruity and candy flavors intended to appeal to youth invites arbitrary enforcement, creating significant uncertainty for manufacturers and retailers alike. If these bills were signed into law as is, there is a reality that it would lead to all premium cigars being considered flavored and therefore banned in the states that are introducing these bills.

CRA’s Strategy To Oppose These Bills

As these flavor ban proposals continue to be introduced across the country, CRA’s advocacy focus is on differentiation, grounded in evidence that premium cigars do not pose a youth-usage concern. National data have shown that premium cigars account for a statistically insignificant share of youth tobacco use, underscoring that these products do not drive the public-health issues these proposals are intended to address.

As we work to oppose these bills, CRA will focus on the following:

Educating lawmakers on the fundamental differences between premium cigars and the products these bills are designed to regulate.
Reinforce that premium cigars do not have issues with youth usage or addiction.
Press for a clear and objective definition, like the Mehta Definition (see below), to define premium cigars and exempt them from flavor bans.

As states continue to introduce and debate flavor ban proposals in 2026, lawmakers would be well served to slow down and recognize that not all tobacco products present the same risks. A wide range of independent authorities, including the Reagan-Udall Foundation and the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, have acknowledged the lack of scientific evidence supporting monolithic regulation of cigars, particularly premium cigars with distinct use patterns and health outcomes. Applying bans designed to address youth vaping and mass-market nicotine products to premium cigars therefore serves no public-health purpose, as premium cigars do not present youth usage or addiction concerns. Instead, these policies risk regulating artisanal products enjoyed by adults out of existence. Failing to draw clear distinctions does not strengthen public health policy; it undermines it.

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A cigar that is (1) is wrapped in whole tobacco leaf; (2) contains a 100 percent leaf tobacco binder; (3) contains at least 50 percent (of the filler by weight) long filler tobacco (i.e., whole tobacco leaves that run the length of the cigar); (4) is handmade or hand rolled (i.e., no machinery was used apart from simple tools, such as scissors to cut the tobacco prior to rolling); (5) has no filter, nontobacco tip, or non-tobacco mouthpiece; (6) does not have a characterizing flavor other than tobacco; (7) contains only tobacco, water, and vegetable gum with no other ingredients or additives; and (8) weighs more than 6 pounds per 1,000 units.

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