14
TOBACCO BUSINESS
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013
NEWS & TRENDS
September/october 2013
Highlights
Smoker Friendly
Hires New GC
Ken Kramer has joined the Cigarette
Store Corp.—Smoker Friendly & Gasa-
mat Oil Corp. of Colorado—as general
counsel and vice president of administra-
tion. Kramer has acted as the organiza-
tion’s outside legal counsel for the past
20 years and will now join the company
full-time.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Ken Kram-
er has had an extensive legal career in
public practice in the fields of corporate
governance, real estate leasing, property
tax, commercial lending, condemnation,
representation of associations, landlord/
tenant disputes and commercial litiga-
tion. He is a member of the American
Property Tax Counsel, the American
Bar Association, the Colorado Bar As-
sociation and the Denver Bar Associa-
tion. While in law school, he served on
the Barrister’s Cup Moot Court Team and
the University of Denver College of Law’s
National Moot Court Team and Jessup In-
ternational Moot Court Team. He has also
written several articles dealing with prop-
erty tax issues and has lectured to and
for a variety of organizations on property
tax issues.
Online E-Cig Ban Just a Rumor
Confronted with allegations that it plans to ban e-cigarette
sales online, the FDA denies any discussion of the matter.
In August, talk of the Food and Drug Administration’s plan to ban online
sales of electronic cigarettes sent ripples of alarm across the nascent
industry. But the FDA quickly denied discussing any possible regulations.
“The FDA did not raise or weigh in on potential regulatory options—
including any potential restrictions on e-cigarettes or any other particu-
lar product category,” said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for
Tobacco Products, referring to the listening sessions that prompted the
claim. “Any details about the agency’s intent to regulate additional cat-
egories of tobacco products will be made publicly available to all inter-
ested parties at the same time, through the issuance of a proposed rule.”
According to the FDA, it frequently meets with members of the to-
bacco industry, public health groups and other stakeholders to better
understand any concerns or questions they may have. Part of that effort
has included listening sessions with e-cigarette companies, but thus far
no determinations about regulation of the sector have been made.
e-Swisher, the Jacksonville, Florida-based e-cigarette and e-cigar division of
Swisher International, took its e-cigarettes and e-cigars on the road this sum-
mer, visiting county fairs, outdoor festivals, rodeos and concerts through-
out Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. The company’s road trip will run from
July 27 through September 28, stopping at key events where its team of “e-
Swisherettes” will provide e-Swisher gear, coupons and samples to qualified
guests. Event-goers will be able to find a respite from summer heat in the
tour’s oversized, inflatable misting tent, visit a photo booth to send greetings
from a tropical locale, and enter a “Miami Weekend e-Scape” sweepstakes
for a chance to win a trip to Miami.
Remaining tour dates and stops are:
• Sept. 6-8 – Carlisle Sports & Outdoors Nationals in Carlisle, PA
• Sept. 13-15 – Ford Fun Weekend in Jupiter, FL
• Sept. 20-22 – Marine Flea Market & Seafood Festival in Palm Beach, FL
• Sept. 26-28 – Gulf Coast Jam in Panama City, FL
Online fans and followers of e-Swisher can virtually participate in the tour
via Facebook and Twitter (
or @e_Swish-
er) through photo sharing, contests and online entry into the e-Scape sweep-
stakes.
e-Swisher’s Road Trip
Vapor tour visits 10 cities in three states
