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FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSOCIATION (FLEOA)
PROPOSED RELEASE ON FLAVORED CIGAR RULE / DRAFT 7-27-22
FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSOCIATION MAINTAINS FDA FLAVORED CIGAR BAN
WOULD “FAIL TO YIELD ANY BENEFICIAL OUTCOMES” WHILE EMPOWERING CARTELS AND GANGS
WASHINGTON, DC, JULY 27, 2022 – The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), which
provides emergency support to 30,000 federal officers from 65 different federal agencies, has written
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf to oppose a proposed ban on
flavored cigars, with National President Jon Adler stating that he has “no doubt the proposed ban will
fail to yield any beneficial outcomes” and that it “would only serve to empower organized crime
components that traffic and sell contraband.”
Pointing out that “federal agencies are suffering law enforcement staffing shortages due to high attrition
rates, reduced budgets, and anti-law enforcement sentiment,” Adler, a retired Senior Criminal
Investigator for the U.S. Attorney's office in the Southern District of New York, indicated that
“combatting the sale of illegal flavored cigars will not be a top priority for any law enforcement agency.”
Adler maintained that “the biggest advocates for this proposed rule are likely the Mexican cartels who
will profit greatly while avoiding any formidable judicial consequences” as now legitimate business shifts
their way, that “cartels, gangs and others” would “start competing in this new lucrative market.” “The
last thing we want to do,” he observes, “is fuel … violence by giving gangs and organized crime another
illegal product to fight over.”
The FLEOA leader also stated his concern that unregulated flavored cigars would be “potentially laced
with fatal chemicals and/or drugs,” in particular fentanyl, which with other synthetic opioids was
responsible for 71,238 fatal overdoses in 2021. Adler also insisted that “the hard truth is that Ronald
McDonald and Wild Cherry Pepsi pose a greater health risk than regulated flavored cigars” as the a lead
“consuming high-fat, high-sodium fast food products and artificially flavored sugared beverages” is a
greater risk to FLEOA’s officers than “smoking an occasional flavored cigar,” and “I suspect the same
holds true for the general public.”
Adler finally calls on FDA to “convene the national law enforcement organizations in order to get a
professional assessment of the prospective consequences,” of a flavored cigar ban. He suggests that
“FDA personnel might benefit from engaging with Border Patrol rank and file and Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Strike Force(s),” including the Border Patrol Agent who reacted to the proposed rule by
remarking, “Great. I look forward to the flavored smoke blowing across the (SW) border in my face."
Concludes Adler, “To avoid the road to hell that is paved with good intentions, it is best to speak to
those who police that road.”

FLEOA Supports Pre-Attack Awareness

Almost every other day, we read about a deadly attack in one of our most sacred institutions – our schools. Afterwards, the usual questions are asked why did this happen and could it have been prevented?

A FLEOA Member and retired Secret Service Agent attempts to address those questions. Greg Truhan, one of the authors of K-PhD School and Campus Shootings Awareness retired from the Secret Service with a specialty with threat assessment. Greg teamed up with retired police Chief James T. McBride, who has worked on school campuses for most of his career – to try and prevent future attacks in our schools.

K-PhD School and Campus Shootings Awareness was written by authors with seventy combined years of law enforcement experience with academic expertise and intertwines US Secret Service research relating to behavioral intelligence, threat assessment, risk management and interventions; Ohio’s best security and safety practices relating to these types of emerging threats; and ten recommendations from the authors.

The authors and their publisher Kendall-Hunt’s dedication to law enforcement and to protecting our children have chosen the FLEOA Foundation as the recipient of proceeds form the sale of this groundbreaking work.

To purchase K-PhD School and Campus Shootings Awareness, go to http://www.kendallhunt.com/mcbride_truhan/

Every purchase could save a life twice, first with helping identify an act of school violence before it occurs and second by supporting a law enforcement officer in need!

Go to http://www.kendallhunt.com/mcbride_truhan/ to purchase K-PhD School and Campus Shootings Awareness now!