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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
JULY/AUGUST 2016
EDITOR’S NOTE
H
aving Smoker Friendly’s Terry Gallagher grace this
issue’s cover is particularly fitting. After all, the
nation’s best-known tobacco outlet chain has just
recently acquired Tobacco Depot, one of the country’s best-
known families of cigar stores.
That transaction is emblematic of many changes taking
place in our industry—from FDA’s controversial decision to
bring cigars into the agency’s regulatory domain, to con-
solidation and new alliances as companies within the indus-
try join forces to fight for survival. It’s a time when the fast-
growing vapor category, just coming into its own, faces its
first real threat in the form of the same regulatory oversight
that combustible tobacco has grappled with for more than
a decade. And, even as the future legality of some products
comes under question, an entirely new category—canna-
bis—is gaining ground, literally, as a legal commodity.
In this issue of
TBI
, you’ll find the perspectives of veterans
from different channels of retail, as well as a wide range of
product categories, on these and other forces shaping the
future of our industry.
We also bring you insights from the cigar side of the busi-
ness, including the debut of our new column, CRA Corner. Turn
to page 86 for a thought-provoking op-ed on FDA’s regulatory
oversight of cigars by the CRA’s own Glynn Loope. Be sure not
to miss the views of Paul Warner, owner of Silo Cigars, who
shares his story in Trench Marketing (page 62) and his views of
FDA regulation in our FDA roundup feature (page 72).
You’ll also hear plenty of voices both representing and
commenting on the vapor category, including VMR’s Jan
Verleur, who joins Warner in our FDA roundup feature
TBI
’s
coverage of the Vapor Expo International Show—a rousing
success—includes comprehensive coverage of a presenta-
tion on FDA regulation by Troutman Sanders’ Bryan Haynes
assessment of vapor’s future (page 78). And our Electric Al-
ley column shares early reactions from vapor industry ob-
servers (page 50).
There’s no denying that these are turbulent times in to-
bacco, yet in researching these stories and talking with the
people who form it, we at
TBI
have found that spirits remain
high and outlooks remain confident. Yes, there is acknowl-
edgement of the challenges ahead, but the majority of those
representing the broad spectrum of newly regulated product
categories are confident that reason will ultimately prevail
and that the industry—accustomed to such challenges—will
find a way to adapt. As Smoker Friendly’s Terry Gallagher
put it, “It’s not the way we like to spend our productivity—
figuring out how to deal with legislative issues—but we will
do what we need to do.”
—The Editors
IPCPR and Beyond—
Celebrating Cigars,
Weathering FDA
Regulation
There’s no denying that
these are turbulent times in
tobacco, yet in researching
these stories and talking
with the people who form it,
we at
TBI
have found that
spirits remain high and
outlooks remain confident.