Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2023

HR 1486, the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2023, exempts specific hand-rolled cigars from most FDA regulations under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. It directly affects small businesses that manufacture "traditional large and premium cigars" meeting strict criteria: made entirely of 100% tobacco leaf (no filters, additives, or non-tobacco parts), weighing at least 6 pounds per 1,000 cigars, and either hand-rolled or made in the U.S. using a single machine for wrapping. The bill prevents the FDA from creating new rules about these cigars and clarifies that existing regulations do not apply to them, excluding cigarettes and little cigars from the exemption. This change reduces regulatory burden for qualifying small cigar manufacturers.