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TOBACCO BUSINESS
MARCH/APRIL 2014
Las Vegas Convention Center
South Hall 1
January 29 – 30, 2014
Following the e-cigarette panel, David
Bishop of Balvor offered an in-depth look
at economic and category trends influencing
tobacco retailing. Bishop pointed out that while
President Obama’s pledge to raise the minimum
wage will represent a cost to retailers who rely on
minimum-wage workers, it will also give their
customers more discretionary spending income.
The president’s proposal to raise cigarette taxes
by $1, however, has no such silver lining. “If that
were to pass, it would likely trigger a 6 percent
decline relative to cigarette volume,” he noted.
Bishop closed his presentation by encouraging
retailers to get involved in grass roots efforts to
influence the wide range of regulatory actions
facing the industry, from those mentioned above
to pending regulatory action on categories like
e-cigarettes and premium cigars. “These are
exciting times; they are interesting times and
you need to be involved,” he noted.
Day two of the TPC Expo opened with a
retail panel on marketing tactics (see Trench
Marketing, p. 76, for highlights) followed by a
presentation by Nancyellen Keane and Bryan
Haynes of Troutman Sanders. Keane discussed
the long and winding road to obtaining FDA
approval to bring “new” tobacco products to
market, noting that only a handful of new
products have been approved by the FDA and
that all approvals and denials issued thus far
have been the proverbial “low hanging fruit.”
“The limited approvals appear to have been
easy calls with ingredients in the new products
having been reduced or eliminated as compared
to the predicate product,” she reported. “Some
applications were summarily denied because
basic info required was not included and at
least one or more products could not show
grandfather status.”
Following
Keane’s
remarks,
Bryan
Haynes urged manufacturers and retailers
to communicate with the FDA, particularly
following the report on suggested deeming
regulations that the FDA is expected to
issue in the spring. “All of you need to be
submitting comments to the FDA when
the rule becomes published; the FDA has
to consider those comments,” he said. “It is
important that they be substantive, [and] well
thought-out, because the FDA will summarily
reject comments like, ‘You all are stupid, you
are trying to destroy the industry.’ You need
to think about how the deeming regulations
will affect how you do business and comment
accordingly.”Ultimately, noted Haynes, no one
can predict what the FDA will decide—but
industry needs to do what it can to influence
the regulatory landscape.
Trend Talk
TheTPCtrade showfloor opened
at 10 a.m. and immediately
bustled with activity as retailers
began browsing the thousands of
products on display. The exhibit
hall also featured the popular
Cigar Bar & Lounge, where
attendees taking a break enjoyed
complimentary beverages, as
well as—for the first time—a
vaping lounge, catering to
attendees and exhibitors seeking
a comfortable space to enjoy
using their electronic devices.
A Teeming Trade
Show Floor
