Six violations in 48 months could result in a $10,000 fine. The FDA has issued a one-page fact sheet titled “Overview: Tobacco Retailer Warning Letters.” The fact sheet explains why warning letters are issued to tobacco retailers, what a retailer needs to do if a warning letter is received and what FDA tobacco regulations apply [...]
If a minor succeeds in purchasing a regulated tobacco product during a compliance inspection, the FDA will now send the retailer a “Compliance Check Inspection Notice” after the inspection occurs. Last week, during an FDA-hosted compliance training Webinar for retailers, the FDA announced it plans to use a new Compliance Check Inspection Notice if a [...]
Despite a demand from adult consumers, retailers are continually forced to defend their right to sell flavored cigars responsibly. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor While tobacco has long been a bread-and-butter product for convenience stores, accounting for millions in individual unit sales and boosting the profits from the average smoker’s market basket, it remains a [...]
Merchants Grocery Co. plant tour aims to help FDA better understand the distributor’s role in the tobacco distribution process. A group of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators visited AWMA member Merchants Grocery Co. in Culpeper, Va., on Wednesday, July 18, and viewed the company’s tobacco processing operation at the invitation of AWMA and Merchants. [...]
In recent years, roll-your-own tobacco machines have surfaced at various retail locations putting convenience stores at a competitive disadvantage on price. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor America, and in particular its lawmakers, remains caught in a love-hate relationship with tobacco. That push-pull has resulted in very well-publicized attempts to dissuade Americans from using tobacco, or [...]
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 expects to issue a deeming regulation in summer 2012 to cover other tobacco products. Cigars, e-cigs and cigarillos are among tobacco products about to meet with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scrutiny. The agency has announced its intent to issue a “deeming regulation” sometime during the summer of 2012 to cover other tobacco [...]
A response to the recent misleading “Deadly Alliance” report implicating convenience stores. By Seth A. Mailhot, Special Counsel, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. This is the first of what will be a continuing series on the regulation of tobacco retailing. In future articles, I will address the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) regulation [...]
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals hears arguments on FDA graphic warnings for cigarettes. On April 10, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard oral arguments regarding the constitutionality of the FDA’s graphic cigarette health warning labels. On Feb. 28, 2012, Federal District Court Judge Richard Leon issued a decision that [...]
The FDA noted it requires more evidence of harm before banning BPA in food packaging. Late Friday afternoon, on the eve of its legal deadline, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it has rejected the 2008 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) petition requesting that the toxic chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, be declared [...]
Until recently, e-cigs have been sold through traditional tobacco stores that normally expect a keystone or 100% markup on items other than cigarettes. Though it is hard to determine the number of e-cig users in the U.S., the National Vapers Club estimated that about a million people used e-cigs last year, so it certainly is [...]
Following a federal court decision that graphic warning labels were unconstitutional, an appellate court has ruled that requiring cigarette warning labels are not a violation of free speech, rather they fall under commercial speech disclosures, are disclosing the health risks of cigarettes and are reasonably related to the government’s interest of preventing the deception of [...]
“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 [...]
Warning letters to note the time of day an inspection took place following NATO request. Going forward, the FDA plans to include the time a retail compliance inspection occurred in warning letters sent to retailers, National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) reported. The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) sent a letter, dated Feb. 1, [...]
A Webcast of the workshop will be available, although preregistration is required. FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products has announced a Research Program Public Workshop: Expanding the Research Base for Tobacco Product Regulation. The purpose of the public workshop is to discuss FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products’ (CTP) research priorities across a broad array of disciplines; [...]