Hand Rolled Cigarettes Banned From U.S. Sale By FDA

A brand of hand-rolled cigarettes was banned from sale in the U.S. market after a sale-stop order from federal regulators took them off the shelves.

Using the authority granted to them by a law in 2009, U.S. Federal regulators were able to order the hand rolled cigarettes called "bidis" off the market. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Jash International, the company behind the Sutra Bidis product, failed to meet requirements of the Tobacco Control Act.

The FDA took four varieties of the product off the market in total, targeting Sutra Bidis Red, Sutra Bidis Menthol, Sutra Bidis Red Cone, and Sutra Bidis Menthol Cone. The products reportedly are standard smoking tobaccos rolled in leaves from the tendu tree, and tied with string, giving them an "earthy" appearance.

According to the FDA, Jash International didn't identify these products for adequate review before they hit U.S. shelves. Congress had given the FDA the authority to oversee the tobacco market, including the review and clearance of new products when they passed the 2009 law cited in this sale-stop order.

According to a release by the FDA today, the organization had been regulating tobacco products based on their equivalence to products sold in the U.S. market prior to February 15. The Sutra Bidis products were found to be "not substantially equivalent" making them ineligible for sale.

The FDA also wrote "existing inventory may be subject to enforcement action, including seizure, without further notice. Companies that continue to sell and distribute these products in the United States may be subject to enforcement actions by the FDA."

Still, the FDA is reportedly giving most retailers of the Jash International tobacco product a 30-day grace period. If stores are found to still be selling the product after that time, they will likely be subject to fines and potential legal action.

The FDA report was released on February 21.