As the PACT (Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking) Act moves to the House after passage in the Senate, for a final vote, NATO is urging retailers to take action. Because the Senate version of the bill is slightly different than the House version, the U.S. House of Representatives must vote on the bill again before it…
Senate Passage of PACT Act a ‘Major Win’ for Retailers
The March 11 Senate passage of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act), which addresses the long-standing convenience store industry concern of tax evasion via remote sellers of tobacco products, is a “major win” for retailers, according to NACS Senior Vice President of Government Relations Lyle Beckwith. Authored by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and…
The Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco supports passing Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking
The Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco has praised the New York Association of Counties for passing a resolution calling for the federal government to support and implement the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act of 2009, S. 1147. The resolution, passed by NYSAC on Feb. 11, 2010, calls on Congress “to take any and…
Renewed Optimism for Smokeless tobacco and tobacco chewing products
The simple truth is that no one is certain what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will come up with next now that it has been given de facto control of the tobacco industry. But between bureaucratic control freaks, national, state and local taxes, and even the whispered fear of retailer liability concerns ahead, many…
NATO Fights New York On Proposed Ban of Flavored Tobacco
This week, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) sent a letter to all 213 members of the New York state legislature urging them to defer legislative action on Bill Number A.9482, which aims to prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco products in the state except for products with a tobacco, menthol, mint or…
Arkansas Court Sides With General Tobacco
An Arkansas Court has denied the Arkansas Attorney General’s motion to remove General Tobacco’s cigarette brands from the directory of approved brands to sell in that state and ordered the Arkansas Attorney General to arbitrate the dispute ordered in 2006, holding that General Tobacco’s cigarette brands may continue to be sold lawfully in Arkansas. Since…
Kretek Drops Cigar Lawsuit Against FDA
Kretek International Inc., importer and marketer of Djarum clove cigars has withdrawn its lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), regarding the distribution and sale of clove cigar products. In light of statements made by the FDA, Kretek in September of 2009 filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District…
Lessons Learned from Challenging Year
There’s no doubt that 2009 will go down as one of the most challenging years ever for the convenience store and petroleum industry. Combined with the poor economy that plagued marketers all year, credit card fees and tobacco regulations added fuel to a fire that, quite honestly, was already burning out of control. For this…
FDA Looks at Future of Tobacco Products
Confusion Reigns Supreme C-store operators aren’t the only ones left scratching their heads by the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) first foray into tobacco regulation.During the FDA’s teleconference, Catherine Lorraine, a lawyer for the administration, said, “I just want to draw your attention to the portion of the definition of a cigarette, which specifically refers…
Legislative Wrap Up for 2009
With the Democrats controlling both houses of Congress and the White House, this year has seen major federal tax and regulatory legislation signed into law that will dramatically impact the tobacco industry. On April 1, the largest tax increase on a single product in the history of the U.S. became law with the federal cigarette…