Despite taxation and regulation, convenience store retailers remain optimistic about this lucrative category, though a potential ban on menthol products is looming. By John Lofstock, Editor. In an era in which the sports page sounds like the business page, talk of selling cigarettes inevitably sounds like political rhetoric. When c-store operators talk cigarettes these days [...]
As consumers embrace roll your own (RYO) tobacco, retailers are seeing a boost in sales of accessories such as rolling papers, cigarette tubes and rolling machines. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor. Smokers seeking a safe harbor from cigarette tax increases have made port in the roll your own (RYO) segment. Many have been pleasantly surprised [...]
FDA seeks to educate retailers with new quizzes and updated information on tobacco regulations, including in Spanish. The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products’ (CTP) has added new features to the retailer section of its Website. FDA hopes these new updates and quizzes will help educate retailers about relevant tobacco regulations and increase voluntary compliance with [...]
Keeping sets fresh—allocating shelf space, rotating product, keeping tabs on expiration dates and weeding out slow sellers in favor of new items—is the key to maintaining strong sales. By John Lofstock, Editor. Convenience store operators are enjoying the growing popularity of smokeless tobacco products, but they are also being forced to keep a wary eye [...]
“It is illegal for tobacco companies or retailers, including Internet sellers, to make unsubstantiated claims or statements that imply tobacco products reduce health risks,” says the director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued 11 warning letters last week to online retailers for illegally marketing tobacco products with [...]
Swisher International has introduced 84-millimeter hard-pack packaging for the company’s Swisher Sweets Little Cigars. While the traditional soft pack will remain available, the popular 84-millimeter length hard pack is designed to resist bending and crushing to preserve the product in its original condition. Today’s consumers have expressed a preference for more protective packaging, and now [...]
Commonwealth Brands and Altadis USA have announced the integration of their sales and marketing units into a unified team. The unified team is expected to provide greater sales coverage and more comprehensive service to its customer. “This will put us in a stronger position to drive growth across our USA mass market portfolio that comprises [...]
Flavored products and natural leaf wrappers remain popular with consumers despite increased taxation and looming FDA intervention. By Frank Seltzer, Contributing Editor. Machine-made or mass-market cigars are by far the largest segment of the cigar universe. While premium cigars get most of the notice in magazines and blogs, the reality is that most cigar smokers [...]
The popularity of e-cigarettes has risen substantially over the past couple of years, giving retailers an opportunity to make up for shrinking tobacco profits. By Frank Seltzer, Contributing Editor. Electronic cigarettes are a relatively new product, but for convenience stores they are beginning to make a big impact on sales. Electronic cigarettes were invented just [...]
As the noose tightens on menthol products, convenience store retailers are learning to accept the latest limitations placed on tobacco products. By: John Lofstock, Editor. Cigarettes will soon carry new warning labels as the question for retailers becomes how to market a product whose package basically urges consumers not to buy it. Federal legislation handed [...]
The FDA now is developing a strategy to regulate electronic cigarettes as tobacco products. On Monday, April 25, 2011, the FDA announced in a letter to stakeholders that is not appealing the recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Sottera Inc. vs. Food & Drug Administration, stating that e-cigarettes [...]
Industry members are encouraged to read and comment on the guidance. Draft guidance, Establishing that a Tobacco Product was Commercially Marketed in the U.S. as of Feb. 15, 2007, has been posted to the Federal Register and on the FDA’s Center For Tobacco Products (CTP) Website today, to encourage feedback from those in the industry. [...]
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the rate of smoking has remained constant since 2008, but the number of smokeless tobacco consumers is rising. The smokeless category has emerged as convenient and practical for those times and locations where cigarettes are desired, but prohibited. While smokeless products represented just 6% of [...]
As the convenience store industry continues to weather the unceasing assault by legislators determined to make it harder to sell tobacco products, accessories are picking up speed based on what is still easy to sell. As a result, tobacco accessories is an emerging category that should continue to grow throughout 2011. According to SymphonyIRI Group, [...]
Tedeschi Food Stores of Brookline, Mass., made a decision four years ago to slash the space it gave cigarettes to increase its focus on other tobacco products (OTP). Cigarette sales continued to trend downward in the chain’s New England markets—thanks to a combination of higher taxes and aggressive marketing by Native Americans—and Tedeschi wanted to [...]