During his nomination hearing before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Dec. 14, 2021, Robert Califf stated that he would work to close the so-called “synthetic nicotine loophole” if he was appointed to be the next U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner. The day after the hearing, a bill was…
MYLE Vape Addresses Disposable Vape Product Waste
MYLE Vape addressed the growing concern over disposable vape product waste and is implementing the four R’s into its corporate mandate by 2024: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rethink — the goal of taking a step towards consumer education regarding waste reduction in the vape industry. MYLE is committed to responsible stewardship when it comes to…
Lighting Up Accessories
The natural pairing of cigarettes and cigars with items like lighters, matches and ashtrays would seem to have dwindling appeal with consumers as the smoking population continues to shrink. But recent data suggests something else is taking place in convenience stores where smoking accessories, including pipes, jumped nearly 10% in dollar sales and 5.5% in…
RYO Has Niche Appeal
For generations, the roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco segment’s major competitor for consumers’ cash was mass-produced cigarettes, cigars and moist chew or snus. In recent years, competition in the tobacco sector has increased, as the category today also includes vape and modern oral nicotine items. There’s also increased competition from the cannabis market. Some 18 states have…
Vape Keeps Beating the Odds
Despite a challenging 2020, vape sales have persevered. The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), in conjunction with several other retail associations, has called on the federal agency to release the list so c-stores can be in compliance by pulling the MDO products. At the moment, the FDA cites confidential commercial information concerns as reason…
Funding Bill Also Lets FDA Regulate Synthetic Nicotine
On Friday, March 11, President Biden signed into law the “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022.” The bill funds the U.S. government through September of 2022 and also includes a section that grants the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products which contain nicotine that is not made or derived from tobacco (e.g., synthetic nicotine). As…
Cigars Aim for Stability in 2022
Now that cigar supply chain issues have begun to find steadier ground since the early days of the pandemic, c-store tobacco category managers wonder if more inventory reliability will stoke sales. IRI convenience store data shows cigar dollar sales grew moderately, at 3.3% for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 26, 2021. However, year-ago changes in…
Special-Edition Trendy Lighter Series
BIC is releasing its new Cutting Edge Special Edition Series, which features lighters with many trendy designs in an all-star lineup. The lighter designs include Zoom-themed “You’re on Mute,” “Wish You Were Beer,” relaxing at the pool and many others. The lighters in this series have a suggested retail price of $2.19 per lighter. BIC […]
Are Cigarettes Back to Normal?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appears intent on moving ahead with revoking market authorization for menthol cigarettes. Next month, the agency is expected to release a proposed rule on the tobacco product standard to eliminate menthol cigarettes from convenience stores and other tobacco retailers. “(The National Association of Convenience Stores) is on record opposing…
U.S. Tobacco Cooperative Plans Bankruptcy Exit After Class-Action Lawsuit
After originally filing for protection in July 2021, U.S. Tobacco Cooperative (USTC) has begun planning an exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy later this summer. The cooperative filed for protection to meet contractual obligations to its member-growers while the company faced uncertainty presented by an ongoing class-action lawsuit. “On Feb. 2, after 17 years of litigation,…