From: Convenience Store Decisions
The c-store industry continues to monitor the FDA’s deeming rules regarding cigars and what it means going forward.
By Howard Riell, Associate Editor
The federal government’s recent decisions concerning tobacco products, specifically cigars, underscore the need for vigilance and involvement on the part of convenience store operators, not just to maintain category sales, but to avoid regulatory issues.
In April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its proposed regulation deeming, among other tobacco products (OTP), cigars as subject to the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. In July, the FDA extended the comment period until Aug. 8.
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At the store level, Williamson continued, retailers will not have to make any changes immediately. “The FDA will go through all the comments and it will take some time to do that. Then they will come out with what they propose after releasing all the comments, sending it through the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) again to make sure what they want to do is fiscally sound. So there is time; they are not going to have to make changes overnight.”