WASHINGTON, D.C. - Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban flavored cigars and cigarillos.

In a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), Diana DeGette (D-CO) and John Dingell (D-MI) voiced their concern that flavored cigar and cigarillo products appeal to minors. The representatives wrote in the letter that tobacco manufacturers are attempting to "sidestep tobacco products standards" by adding flavors to cigars and cigarillos.

In September 2009, the FDA banned the sale of candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes. "Congress believed this action was critical because flavored tobacco products are particularly attractive to children," the letter stated.

The agency has been working to expand the "scope of the Tobacco Control Act by making other tobacco products (e.g. cigars) subject to FDA oversight," and the letter endorsed the FDA??s "current evaluation of options for restricting additional flavored tobacco products."