FDA Bans Sales Of Hand-Rolled Bidi Cigarettes

The U.S. Food and Drugs Administration issued a first order to ban the sale of a line of hand-rolled, leaf-wrapped tobacco cigarettes known as bidis, effective Friday.

The products that got the axe include Sutra Bidis Red, Sutra Bidis Menthol, Sutra Bidis Red Cone, and Sutra Bidis Menthol Cone cigarettes, the administration announced in a press release.

In January 2011, the FDA announced it would no longer be approving products that didn't already have a market equivalent sold before Feb. 5, 2007 (predicate products). This was part of the Tobacco Control Act, instituted in March of 2011 that gave the FDA total oversight over tobacco products and allowed them to reject products that would raise new public health concerns.

"Historically, tobacco companies controlled which products came on and off the market without any oversight," said Mitch Zeller, J.D., director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products in a press statement. "But the Tobacco Control Act gave the FDA, a science-based regulatory agency, the authority to review applications and determine which new tobacco products may be sold and distributed under the law in order to protect public health."

According to the FDA report, manufacturer of the products, Jash International, failed to meet the requirements of the Tobacco Control Act to be able to continue selling these products. The ban states that these products can no longer be sold or distributed in interstate commerce or imported into the United States. FDA officials stated that the manufacturing company failed to provide information necessary to determine whether the new products had the same characteristics as a predicate product.

"Companies have an obligation to comply with the law - in this case, by providing evidence to support an SE application," said Zeller. "Because the company failed to meet the requirement of the Tobacco Control Act, the FDA's decision means that, regardless of when the products were manufactured, these four products can no longer be legally imported or sold or distributed through interstate commerce in the United States."

Bidis are thin, hand rolled cigarettes that are made mostly in India and other Southeast Asian countries. The tobacco is wrapped in a tendu or temburni leaf, and tied with a colorful string. They come in flavors like chocolate, cherry or mango or may be unflavored. They have a higher amount of nicotine and tar and produce more carbon monoxide than traditional cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Retailers that have Sutra Bidis Red, Sutra Bidis Menthol, Sutra Bidis Red Cone and Sutra Bidis Menthol Cone have a grace period of 30 days before the FDA can take action against them. However, stores that buy these products after today and attempt to sell them can face legal consequences.

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