NATO is a
supporting
member of
"We Card"
November 3, 2006
A Newsletter of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, Inc.
October 2009
FDA Tobacco Regulations Punctuated by Lawsuits
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hen
NATO warned members of Congress that legislation granting the FDA the
power to ban color tobacco advertising violated the First Amendment free
speech protections afforded to product advertising, a majority of
representatives and senators chose not to listen.
The result was a federal lawsuit filed by R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco Company, Conwood Company, Commonwealth Brands,
Lorillard, National Tobacco Company, and Discount Tobacco City &
Lottery against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the
Food and Drug Administration seeking to protect the constitutional right
of tobacco manufacturers and retailers to communicate to adults through
tobacco product advertising.
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espite
assurances from the new director of the FDA’s Tobacco Products Center
during “Listening Session” conference calls that the agency planned
to communicate openly with the tobacco industry about implementing the
new tobacco regulations, the FDA issued a letter on September 14th
notifying the industry about the ban on flavored cigarettes which
included a sentence that other flavored tobacco products may also be
banned. The result was a
federal lawsuit filed by Kretek International against the FDA seeking an
injunction against banning flavored little cigars.
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third
lawsuit has also been filed in federal court by BBK Tobacco &
Foods, d/b/a HBI International seeking to protect the right to sell
flavored cigarette rolling papers that are sold
in
separate packages. While
the new FDA law bans flavored cigarettes and their component parts
including the tobacco, filter and paper, the law does not specifically
refer to a ban on flavored rolling papers that are separately
packaged.
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hese
lawsuits were all filed in a six week period from the end of August to
the middle of October and demonstrate not only that the FDA lacks a
fundamental understanding of different tobacco products, but is
willing to proceed with implementing new tobacco regulations before
communicating with those in the tobacco industry that are directly
affected by such regulations. If
the past six weeks of confusion over the new tobacco regulations
followed by the filing of three federal lawsuits is any indication,
additional litigation may certainly be the case as more and more of
the tobacco regulations are implemented.
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Political Participation Vital |
With states continuing to look to tobacco
products for additional revenue, and now Congress enacting both a
significant increase in the federal cigarette and tobacco tax rate and
new FDA tobacco regulations, it is imperative for NATO members to become
actively involved and politically engaged on tobacco legislative issues.
-Andrew
Kerstein, NATO President
Board Candidate Request
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ATO members are encouraged to consider being a candidate for a NATO board of director seat. This November, NATO members will be voting to elect five retailers and five manufacturers to serve a two year term on the NATO board of directors. To be eligible for a board seat, a candidate must be an owner, partner, shareholder, officer or employee of a NATO member and make a commitment to attend board meetings and participate as a member on one or more board committees. The board meets four times a year (two times by conference call and two in-person meetings). Please call NATO Executive Director Tom Briant at 1-866-869-8888 by November 10th if you would be interested in being a candidate for a NATO board seat.
Praise for NATO E-News
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ecently,
more than one NATO member has indicated that the NATO E-News
Bulletin is one of the best sources of information on current
tobacco issues and NATO’s legislative efforts.
If you are not receiving the E-News
Bulletins, please call the NATO office at 1-866-869-8888 or e-mail
the NATO staff at info@natocentral.org
to be placed on the E-News distribution
list. The E-News is your one stop source for tobacco industry information.
Once
again this year, numerous states looked to cigarette and tobacco
products for additional revenue. With
many states facing budget deficits, cigarette and tobacco taxes
continued to be a target for legislators to partially solve revenue
shortfalls. However, as NATO
has informed legislators nationwide, the continued reliance on and
increasing of cigarette and tobacco taxes has reached a point of
diminishing returns in numerous states.
That is, further increases in the tax rates result in the state
treasury either collecting less revenue than before the tax rate
increase or failing to come close to the projected revenue estimate.
Cigarette Tax Increases:
18 Defeated vs. 14 Passed
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Cigarette
Tax Increases Defeated (Per Pack) |
Cigarette
Tax Increases Passed (Per Pack) |
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OTP Tax Increases:
15 Defeated vs. 17 Passed
Legislation to raise tax rates on other tobacco products was defeated or failed in fifteen states and passed in fourteen states. The states where OTP tax increases failed included Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
The
seventeen states that enacted higher OTP taxes or changed the method of
moist snuff taxation included the following: Arkansas, Connecticut,
Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York,
North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania (only little cigars taxed at
$1.60/pack), Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
State Smoking Restrictions:
7 Defeated vs. 4 Passed
Save the Date: 2010 NATO Dinner
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ATO
members should mark their 2010 calendars and save
Cusano Cigars Honored
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t
the recent Smoker Friendly International Tobacco Festival, Cusano
Cigars/Dom Rey Cigars was presented with the Smoker Friendly Visionary
Award for 2009. This award
is presented to the company that has seen and acted upon the potential
in partnering with Smoker Friendly International to build each of
their respective businesses.
Save the Date: 2010 TPE Show
tobacco product exhibitors are two of the many reasons to plan to attend. Learn more about the show by visiting www.tobaccoplusexpo.com.
Fighting
for Retailers; Protecting the Industry