“We strongly encourage cigar smokers to make their voices heard,” explains the European Cigar Manufacturers Association.

The European Union has launched a consultation on its tobacco control rules.

The consultation is open to all European citizens until midnight on June 15 (Brussels time) ahead of a review of the European tobacco directives.

The European Cigar Manufacturers Association (ECMA) has published a guide for participating in this call for contributions, which has been open since last week on the European Commission’s website.

“With the threat of plain packaging at the European level looming on the horizon of the upcoming revision of the European Tobacco Products Directive, we strongly encourage cigar smokers to make their voices heard so that European policymakers understand that cigars are different from mass-produced tobacco and nicotine products,” explains Paul Varakas, President of ECMA. “Traditional niche products, consumed occasionally, should not be treated the same as cigarettes and new products used daily.” This differentiation is crucial in order to avoid becoming collateral damage in a European review focused on new nicotine products.