Reader protests FDA rules

Help.

The Food and Drug Administration was established in 1906 to keep unscrupulous food merchants from poisoning their customers. Today, it’s an enormous bureaucracy that must find more and more ways to restrict commerce in order to keep itself alive.

The latest target for the FDA’s micromanagement is cigars. Americans have enjoyed cigars since colonial times. They’ve come to be a symbol of celebration, handed out after a victory or the birth of a child. Yet the FDA believes that American adults aren’t smart enough to be allowed to buy their cigars without passing through its hoops first.

The new rules prohibit buyers from touching cigars in the store to check their quality, criminalizes walk-in humidors and raises taxes on cigars to make them as unaffordable as possible. Cigars are legal, but the FDA aims bit by bit to make it as hard as possible to enjoy this legal product.

On Capitol Hill, a bill has been proposed to exclude hand-rolled cigars from the FDA’s latest pettifogging. There are already more than 100 co-sponsors for this bill, but more support is needed. If you want to preserve your freedom, now is the time to speak up. Sign the petition at cigarrights.org and let the FDA know that you’re an adult and can decide for yourself if you want to enjoy a cigar.

And when we’re done defeating the FDA encroachment on our rights, we’ll kick back with a fine hand-rolled cigar and celebrate.