After working with House Energy and Commerce Committee members to include provisions addressing retailer concerns, NACS has withdrawn its opposition to H.R. 1108, a bill that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco manufacturing and retailing. For years NACS had opposed H.R. 1108 and similar legislation because of concerns about [...]
The IRI Beer, Wine and Spirits Practice announced results from its annual analysis of beer sales, pinpointing the Top 30 beer brands and the Top 15 new beer brands in 2007. “The historic trend of consumers trading up and paying a premium price for their favorite brands continued in 2007,” said Bump Williams, general manager [...]
In perhaps the harshest criticism of the government’s plan to regulate tobacco, Reynolds American today questioned the ability of the Food and Drug Administration to effectively oversee the sale of cigarettes and smokeless products as it’s currently constituted. Congress has criticized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past year for not ensuring the [...]
Industry analysts say the tobacco industry could see an accelerated decline in sales over the next few years, largely because of more health-conscious consumers and the country’s anti-tobacco movement, according to Dow Jones and the American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA). “We have highlighted accelerated volume declines as one of the bigger risks the industry faces," [...]
While most are lamenting the cost of fuel, a renowned energy professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business is saying that gas costs should be higher to more accurately reflect the real cost of a barrel of oil. Professor Lester Lave said the real cost of a barrel of oil is more than [...]
Lawmakers in the Maryland town of Somerset are tightening restrictions on tobacco sales to minors by revoking business licenses after just two violations within a 24-month period, The Herald (Md.) News reported. The town’s Board of Selectmen unanimously approved new regulations that call for a business to lose its license for three to 30 days [...]
Houston City Council on Wednesday approved an ordinance that will force convenience store owners to beef up security measures by installing cameras and other crime-prevention mechanisms, Texas Cable News reported. The new law requires the city’s convenience stores to install color digital surveillance cameras as well as other measures, including: * Annual safety training for [...]
Royal Dutch Shell and Wisconsin-based bioscience firm Virent Energy Systems are teaming to develop what they said will be a “biogasoline” made from plant material, the Houston Chronicle reported. The companies say biogasoline can be made from non-food crops like switchgrass or agricultural waste like sugar-cane pulp, while the industry’s existing infrastructure can be used [...]
The Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle has created a promotional package to attract guests who may be deterred by the rising cost of fuel. The Guests Gas It Up package offers a $20 Shell gift card for each night a guest stays in a classic or deluxe room at the hotel, where prices start at [...]
A national survey reveals that most U.S. wine purchasers want “truth-in-labeling” on bottles of wine, with many believing that the name of a wine region should only appear on a bottle’s label if the wine was produced there. Conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, the poll found that 79% of consumers want to be [...]
Consumer confidence took a nosedive this month, hitting its lowest level since March 2003, according to the Consumer Confidence Survey by The Conference Board. The index is now at 64.5, down from 76.4 in February, the Consumer Confidence Index showed. The survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households and is conducted [...]
A Maryland Republican lawmaker is hoping to repeal a law he says is keeping competition from driving down gas prices in his state, The Washington Times reported. Delegate Warren E. Miller has been trying for three years to repeal a law “that forces lower-cost gas stations, such as Wawa and Sheetz, to conform to the [...]
Des Moines City Council is considering new guidelines that would call for public hearings and increased scrutiny on construction plans and alternations for new convenience stores and gas stations in the city, c-store industry leaders in that city said. “It’s all fine and it’s a standard practice, but the problem is the language is left [...]
More than 40% of South Florida’s underground fuel storage tanks don’t comply with a state law requiring gas stations and other owners to upgrade their facilities, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. Approved by Florida legislators more than 18 years ago, the law requires underground fuel storage tanks to have a double-walled system by 2009 to [...]
A proposal to allow wine sales in Tennessee’s retail stores has stalled in the Legislature, while a supermarket and Sheetz store in Pennsylvania are trying to work out the bugs in that state’s interpretation of liquor-license regulations, according to Associated Press reports. The bill in Tennessee would allow an applicant to receive a "wine at [...]