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I don't see anything specifically preventing cigar samplers in the rules, but numerous places are saying that samplers will no longer be allowed? Doesn't it mean you just have to wrap the sampler in cello or a box or baggie and slap a health warning on it?
The new regs (may Gaia bless our benevolent Bureaucrats) pretty clearly forbid samples; not samplers. I see several cigar sites pretending that samplers will be prohibited after today. Either they can't or haven't comprehended the regs, or else they are purposely misleading us to pump up their sales, or I am full of schidt and can't read plain English -- that's a possibility too.
They lie, we buy.
Yeah, that's what I thought. Any site that adopts tactics such as these will not see my business. I can tell you that much. Samples will perservere. There are many ways around the rules. You can make one cigar per vendor included in an admission price of an event, or charge a nominal fee for product at the table. Only headache I can see will be higher prices to cover the red tape and a higher business entry cost and new product cost to companies reducing competition, innovation, and selection. Which is still troubling. Oh well, it's here.
As a bureaucrat, samplers may not be prohibited per se, but are probably essentially killed - assuming that the FDA bureaucrats know how to do their job. I haven't read the regulations - and not being American, I have no reason to - but the obvious area would be packaging and labelling requirements. Any sampler made up as a product to be sold would probably have to meet the same regs as any package, i.e., the same labelling/registration process as a box. Keep in mind that it is the product/packaging that is being regulated, not just the product. Coming up with an approved new package of various labels (or even sizes one would suspect) is something a cigar manufacturer could do if it wanted to, but would be beyond almost all retailers. AFAIK, single-stick purchases will still be allowed, so one could build their own sampler - but, I suspect, only in a B&M (because each box that you would pick cigars from would have the right warnings displayed).
I realize that it looks to everyone that a united front is being presented by cigar manufacturers, but the big winners in regulation are the labels that existed before Feb 2007, and big losers are the makers that have brands that came to market after that date. In other words, the survivors of the '80's-'90's cigar boom/bust are going to watch the FDA more-or-less wipe out all those new brands that have been biting into their market share.
What it boils down to is a retailer can no longer give anything away. No free cigars or pipe tobacco.
In my company (healthcare manufacturing) we deal with FDA issues every single day. You have no idea how absolutely convoluted the reasoning is.
You can't change ANYTHING. No common sense WHATSOEVER. Labeling, records, ANYTHING & EVERYTHING!
Over-regulation is KILLING us. Obviously, regulations are necessary. But "OVER" regulation is what has become the norm.
And can you imagine -- the FDA has, as I understand -- has forbidden cigar companies from donating cigars to our troops?
Really aggravating!