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…
FDA Posts Draft Guidance To Website
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 Draft guidance, Establishing that a Tobacco Product was Commercially Marketed in the U.S. as of Feb. 15, 2007, has been posted to the Federal Register and on the FDA’s Center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.…
FDA Enforcement Has Started, What Should You Do?
The We Card Program offers seven steps c-store retailers need to take right now. By: Doug Anderson, President, The We Card Program. Before FDA regulations took effect, it was enough to prevent an underage tobacco sale. The question, “Is this customer old enough to buy tobacco?” ruled the day. That way of thinking falls short…
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,…
Possible Regulation Ahead For Cigars
Increased regulation could be ahead for cigars in 2011. In the Dec. 20, 2010 issue of the Federal Register, the Department of Health and Human Services published the agency’s semi-annual “Regulatory Agenda” which provides a forecast of rulemaking actions under development that the agency expects to undertake. The FDA is a part of the Department…
FDA Petitions Court on E-Cigarettes
On Dec. 20, the FDA filed a petition requesting that the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia schedule a hearing and review the FDA’s appeal of the initial federal district court ruling on its ability to regulate e-cigarettes as a drug or medical device, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO)…
FDA Proposes Rules on Cigarette Warnings Labels
On Nov. 10, 2010, the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products issued a 140 page document titled “Required Warnings for Cigarette Packages and Advertisement Proposed Rule,” which modifies the current cigarette package warning labels and also requires color graphic warnings to accompany the new text warnings, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) reported. The FDA…
FDA Calls For Food Safety Managers
In the name of food safety, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended that all restaurants and retailers employ certified food protection managers, Nation’s Restaurant News reported. The recommendation is supported by the National Restaurant Association and the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) and came on the heels of the results of a…
Menthol Ban Could Fuel Black Market
The FDA is considering a ban on menthol cigarettes in the U.S., a move some fear could have unintended consequences, such as a skyrocketing black market for the products. “What we’re currently facing in the U.S. is the (potential) banning of a currently legal product. We’re very concerned that would create an immediate black market…
Dissolvable Tobacco Products Under Attack
This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that GlaxoSmithKline PLC has asked the FDA to remove dissolvable smokeless tobacco products from the market until companies that manufacture the products demonstrate to the FDA that the marketing of such products is appropriate for the protection of the public health, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO)…