With various federal laws banning or limiting certain cigarette product advertising, cigarette packaging itself has become a commercially accepted form of advertising. By John Lofstock, Editor. In early April, the Village of Haverstraw, N.Y., adopted a first-of-its-kind ordinance in the U.S. that requires retailers to keep tobacco out of public view. To learn more about…
FDA Introduces Draft Guidance on MRTPs and HPHCs for Tobacco
FDA intends to focus reporting enforcement on 20 HPHCs during 2012, and provides details for those seeking to market a tobacco product as modified or lower risk. Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released two separate draft guidance documents to “help fight the tobacco epidemic and stop children from using tobacco.” The draft…
FDA Issues Letter On Warning Labels
“At this time, FDA will not be soliciting or reviewing cigarette warning plans, the agency noted. Due to ongoing litigation, the implementation date for the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) final rule entitled “Required Warnings for Cigarette Packages and Advertisements” (“June 2011 Rule”) —which requires larger, more prominent health warnings on all cigarette packaging and…
FDA Issues Warning Letters To Tobacco Retailers
More than 1,200 retailers that sell tobacco receive warnings about violations. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent warning letters to more than 1,200 retailers, the majority of which respond to violations relating to selling tobacco to minors, as part of its ongoing effort to reduce tobacco use among children. While most retail establishments…
FDA Reveals Final Cigarette Warning Labels
The new graphic health warnings must appear on all cigarette packs, cartons and ads by September 2012. This morning FDA announced the nine cigarette health warnings required to appear on every pack of cigarettes sold in the U.S. and in every cigarette advertisement. This bold measure is aimed at making sure that every American understands…
Maintaining Cigarette Sales
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…
Discount Tobacco City Takes on the FDA
When a number of major tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Conwood Co. LLC, Commonwealth Brands Inc., Lorillard Inc. and National Tobacco Co., decided to take on the federal government’s ban on tobacco advertising, they were looking for one retailer to step up and join the fight. They got their wish when Frank Hinton,…
Maintaining Strong Smokeless Sales
The slew of new regulations governing the sale of tobacco products has convenience store operators scratching their heads and wondering where the next assault will come from and what to do about it. For example:• The federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act) went into effect on June 29, 2010. Its goal is to…
FDA Clarifies Flavored Cigarette Ban
The FDA hosted a media briefing this morning and has posted documents on the FDA Web site issuing additional information regarding the ban on flavored cigarettes, authorized by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act that was signed into law in June. According to the new documents, cigarettes containing an artificial or natural flavor…
Cigars Enhance Flavor Profile
The SCHIP tobacco tax rates that hit on April 1 are costing cigar smokers more, but sales continue to persevere. As of April, the federal taxes on large cigars rose from 20.719% of the wholesale price with a tax cap of 4.875 cents per cigar to 52.75% of the wholesale price with a tax cap…