What exactly is the definition of a cigar? I was a little surprised when I was asked this question, but when I think about it carefully, it seems that I have never explained in detail what is considered a cigar?
A cigar should be completely composed of tobacco leaves, and has three parts: filler, binder, and wrapper. In other words, as long as it is made of pure tobacco leaves, it can be called a cigar with three components. This is actually a broad description of cigars, and this definition is not a very strict definition of cigars.
For example, do tobacco leaves with shredded tobacco leaves count as cigars? Do mini cigars count as cigars? Is a cigar bigger than a car a cigar? Are cigars with a length of more than 100 meters considered cigars? Are flavors added to tobacco leaves considered cigars?
Previously, the National Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Engineering and the Academy of Medicine made a joint report on cigars. In the report, there was a specific definition of high-quality cigars. Cigars should have the following six characteristics: handmade, made of at least 50% natural long leaves Filler tobacco consisting of wrappers in whole leaf tobacco weighing at least 6 pounds per 1000 sticks, without filters or tips, and having no characteristic flavor other than tobacco.
This definition of high-quality cigars was later applied to the regulation of cigars by the US Food and Drug Administration. Cigars that fit this definition are regulated differently than other tobaccos. For example, tobacco with added flavoring essence is defined as flavored tobacco, even if it meets the other five criteria, flavored tobacco cannot be sold online in many places. Another example is that less than 6 per thousand units are classified under the same management standards as cigarettes.
Now more and more countries and regions in the world regard high-quality cigars as a relatively unique category of tobacco products, and many places adopt different regulatory standards for high-quality cigars than other tobacco products. For example, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill last year called "Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act". The bill prohibits all flavored tobacco products and Internet and catalog sales of all tobacco products. However, one tobacco category exempt from the new rules is premium cigars, which are also exempt from pre-market approval. For the first time ever, the U.S. House of Representatives has officially recognized premium cigars as a distinct category of tobacco that is regulated differently from other tobacco leaf products. However, the bill adds requirements for high-quality cigars, that is, the price of high-quality cigars is stipulated. Each cigar with a price of more than 12 US dollars is considered a high-quality cigar and enjoys exemption. Now in many cases, the definition of this kind of high-quality cigar is considered to be the narrow definition of cigar, and many people think that this kind of high-quality cigar is the real cigar.
