American cigar smokers anxiously flicked their lacquered lighters this morning when news broke that President Barack Obama would be easing the decades-old restrictions on Cuban travel and goods. Since 1962, Cuba's legendary cigars have been banned from the shelves of American tobacconists and many travelers have sadly handed over their duty-free smokes to border agents.
Dreaming of carrying armloads of cigars out of Cuba now that the U.S. is thawing relations? Not so fast.
Cuban cigars have not been legalized for sale in the US. That cannot change until Congress agrees to reverse the trade embargo.