Anne Baye Ericksen

This time last year, convenience store owners and operators were dealt a double whammy: First they had to adapt to the recently passed federal minimum tobacco purchase age of 21; then they had to pull product in accordance with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ban on most flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Next,…

Not only has the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted daily life for customers, and with it their shopping habits and needs, but it’s also affecting their priorities when it comes to candy selection. “It’s interesting, the moment mask-wearing became part of everyday life, the need and demand for fresh breath declines,” said Joe Bortner, category manager for…

For years, snuff, or loose tobacco, dominated the smokeless tobacco category. Then came snus — tobacco pouches that produce less spit — which added new life to the other tobacco product (OTP) segment. But the category really received a boost four years ago when Swedish Match launched ZYN, a tobacco-free nicotine pouch, often referred to…

Since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deemed electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) as tobacco products in 2016, it’s moved the premarket tobacco authorization (PMTA) application deadline multiple times, confounding manufacturers and convenience store operators. Initially, it was set for August 2018, then extended to August 2022 before being moved to August 2021. Then last…

If you thought that once the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its ban on most flavored vaping products in January, that would be the end of new federal tobacco regulations, think again. One month later, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020…

As customers prepared to welcome 2020, c-store retailers were watching legislation drop on tobacco products. The day before President Donald Trump signed the omnibus spending bill on Dec. 20 that raised the national tobacco minimum purchase age from 18 to 21, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) expressed dismay with the lack of a military exemption by…

On Nov. 6, members of the Boston Convenience Store Owners Association, along with independent c-store owners throughout Massachusetts, closed shop for the day in protest of a proposed ban on menthol and mint tobacco products. Their frustration is shared by many in the industry as lawmakers across the country float various bans and new regulations…

In many ways, Massachusetts is a microcosm of tobacco regulations popping up in communities across the country. Prior to the statewide enactment of 21 as the legal minimum purchasing age for tobacco products earlier this year, various cities adopted the age while others remained at 18. Way before Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker called for a…

Next month marks one year since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a statement detailing possible changes to tobacco regulations, including the intent to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to ban menthol in combustible tobacco products. Four months later, it released another ANPRM to lower maximum nicotine levels in cigarettes to…

Cigars still sit in regulation purgatory, awaiting federal decisions on a number of other tobacco product (OTP) concerns including the future of flavors, while cities and states are moving forward with local ordinances on tobacco products.  Last month, Cumberland Farms announced a lawsuit against boards of health in six Massachusetts cities. The company, which operates more…