24
TOBACCO OUTLET BUSINESS
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
TMA REPORT
…22
nd Century Group, developer of “technology
for tobacco harm reduction and smoking cessation
products,” announced July 9 that
China’s State Intel-
lectual Property Office
issued the company a Notice of
Allowance, and IP Australia issued it a patent, for the
NBB gene, which is responsible for production of nico-
tine and nicotinic alkaloids in the tobacco plant and is
one of the “keystones of 22nd Century’s intellectual
property.”
Though New Zealand Prime Minister John Key
has denied that
plain packaging
has ever been raised
as a point of contention in the Trans-Pacific Partnership
negotiations being conducted by the U.S. with eight
other nations, including New Zealand, Associate Health
Minister Tariana Turia said she suspects the U.S. is put-
ting pressure on her country regarding the legislation,
noting that “there have been companies in the United
States that have come out supporting the tobacco com-
panies and one of the tobacco companies, of course, is
from the U.S., so obviously there is a link there.”
…
In a new Populus poll of 2,000 British people
commissioned by
Philip Morris Limited,
64
percent
of the respondents said they believe plain packaging
for cigarettes would be the least effective initiative to
curb underage smoking, while 3 percent said it would
be the most effective measure.
…
A policy document by Australia-India Institute
Taskforce on Tobacco Control released in New Delhi
on July 23 recommends that India introduce plain
packaging of tobacco products as part of a compre-
hensive approach to combat tobacco use, with Mon-
ika Arora of the
Public Health Foundation of India
saying the taskforce will propose the policy “through
a series of consultations and face-to-face meetings”
involving the ministries of law, health, and trade and
commerce.
…
In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration an-
nounced that its
interagency partnership
with the Nation-
al Institutes of Health is inviting Specialized Center grant
(
Activity Code P50) applications for “Tobacco Centers of
Regulatory Science (TCORS) for Research Relevant to the
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
”
…
The FDA created a webpage on the “Overview of
Substantial Equivalence
and Exemption from Substan-
tial Equivalence,” at
-
sourcesforYou/ucm238891.htm.
…
National Journal reports that Puro PAC, a hybrid
political action committee created in December 2011 by
a group of cigar store owners that is pushing for legisla-
tion to prevent the FDA from regulating
premium cigars
,
has already raised $247,159 in this election cycle and has
contributed $51,500 to 42 U.S. House members and three
Senators, about two-thirds of whom are Republicans. U.S.
cigar manufacturer and exporter Swisher International’s
PAC has raised $140,015 so far this cycle and contributed
$48,500 to eight House members and nine Senators, 90
percent of whom are Republicans.
…
On June 13 Deutsche Bank analysts said that the
World Trade Organization has updated its
“
clove dispute”
site, which states that at the Dispute Settlement Body
(
DSB) meeting on April 24, 2012, the “U.S. informed the
DSB of its intention to implement the DSB recommenda-
tions and ruling in a manner that protects public health
and respects its WTO obligations, but that it would need
a reasonable period of time to do so,” which the analysts
said suggests that the most likely outcome is a negotiated
settlement with Indonesia that does not involve tobacco.
…
The FDA CTP sent a
warning letter
to FairPrice To-
bacco of Arlington Heights, Illinois, stating that the “dual
purpose tobacco” products OHM, Kentucky Select, Criss
Cross and 4 Aces sold on its websites
-
rette.com and
are adulterated under
the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
,
as amended
by the
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control
Act
,
because they are promoted as modified risk tobacco
products without an FDA order permitting such promo-
tion.
…
As the premium cigar industry, including the In-
ternational Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association,
warns that the FDA’s
potential restrictions on cigars
could hurt both cigar manufacturers and specialty tobac-
co stores, and the U.S. House Appropriations Committee
on June 19 reminded the FDA that any effort to regulate
On packaging/LABELING …
On FDA REGULATION …
