As the battle against Big Tobacco continues to wage, c-store retailers are bracing against pending Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, an onslaught of state and local legislation and rising inflation, all the while working to adjust their backbars to comply with the latest mandates and still maximize sales. As potential restrictions from FDA on…
Smoking Accessories Set to Hit $6.3 Billion by 2030
Tobacco accessories are holding their own in c-stores despite ongoing inflation and price increases in the segment and across the tobacco categories. In fact, many convenience store retailers spy an opportunity to expand business in the accessories segment inside the 22 states (plus Washington, D.C.) where adults can buy or possess cannabis recreationally. The convenience…
Tobacco’s Tumultuous Road
In 2009, a few months after I joined CStore Decisions magazine (CSD), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was given the authority to regulate tobacco products when the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was signed into law that June. That August it launched the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). In the 14 years…
Unpacking FDA’s Very Low Nicotine Plan
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted earlier this year that its proposed very low nicotine regulation could be published by this fall. While a comment period and review would follow, if the regulation were to go into effect, it would prohibit the sale of almost all cigarettes currently on the market. Background In July…
EMA Seeks Clarification Regarding Electronic Nicotine Products
The Energy Marketers of America (EMA) have submitted a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clarification on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). EMA is imploring the FDA to publish a clear and comprehensive list of ENDS that can or cannot be legally sold to eliminate confusion and uncertainty in the marketplace. Although…
FDA Deals Warning Letters to 30 Retailers
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent 30 retailers and one supplier warning letters for illegally selling various types of Puff and Hyde brand disposable e-cigarettes, which were two of the most commonly reported brands used by youth e-cigarette users in 2022. The Puff products include Puff Bar. “Protecting our nation’s youth from tobacco…
Retailers Wait on FDA Final Rules
More than 100 cigar and cigarette makers, along with several hundred distributors and thousands of c-store retailers are waiting for the next word on tobacco flavor and menthol rulemaking from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Earlier this year, the FDA Center for Tobacco Products indicated it was still holding to an August 2023 final…
Will Flavor Regulation Target Smokeless Tobacco?
The question is being asked by worried retailers all across the convenience store landscape: will flavor regulation target smokeless tobacco? The answer, unfortunately, appears to be: eventually. While smokeless tobacco is considered mostly safe for now, there are some states that have begun targeting the product. Smokeless tobacco has largely flown under the radar of…
Online Food Ordering Offers Convenience
As foodservice continues to climb in importance at convenience stores, retailers are taking advantage of technology to allow customers more options when they order. At GetGo Café + Market, headquartered in Pittsburgh, customers can place foodservice orders via the company’s website or the GetGo app on iOS and Android up to 24 hours in advance,…
New Bill to Possibly Stop FDA Flavor and Menthol Bans
On May 17, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations issued a draft of the Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Related Agencies Bill. The bill includes provisions that would prevent the FDA from banning the use of menthol in cigarettes, prohibiting characterizing flavors in all cigars or…