TRADE TALK: News from NATO - May/June 2008
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By Thomas A. Briant, Executive Director, National Association of Tobacco Outlets |
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In the U.S. House, the Subcommittee on Health passed bill number H.R. 1108 on March 11 on an 18 to 9 vote to send the bill to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee. All of the Democrats on the subcommittee plus one Republican member voted to pass the bill while the other Republicans voted against sending the bill to the full committee for consideration. NATO’s PositionWhile NATO has not taken a position on the provisions of the FDA bill that involve manufacturer regulations, NATO is concerned with several parts of the bill that could jeopardize the future of retail stores that sell tobacco products. First, Section 917 of the bill specifically allows Congress, federal agencies, states, and cities to adopt even more severe restrictions, including a complete ban on the sale of tobacco products. Second, all color tobacco advertising would be prohibited inside any retail store that sells tobacco products and retailers would be reduced to advertising legal tobacco products by using black letters on a white background. This in-store color advertising ban violates the protection of “commercial speech” under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to advertise legal products. Third, under Section 901(b) of H.R. 1108, the FDA would be allowed to simply expand the regulations to apply to all other tobacco products including cigars, little cigars, and pipe tobacco. However, one significant amendment offered by Republican Nathan Deal of Georgia and approved by the subcommittee requires that any future regulations or expansion of regulations proposed by the FDA must go through a rulemaking process. By this amendment, the FDA would need to publish any new proposed regulations and allow the public to submit comments on the new rules. This rulemaking requirement partially addresses NATO’s concern that the FDA would have had the authority to adopt even more restrictive regulations on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products and even extend regulations to cigars, little cigars, and pipe tobacco without any further public input or action by Congress. NATO has corresponded with the members of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee about these concerns and NATO retailers have been alerted to contact their U.S. Representatives that are members of this committee. User Fee vs. TaxIn addition to NATO’s concerns, the Bush administration has publicly voiced a concern that the FDA would be overburdened if it had to regulate the tobacco industry due to a lack of experienced staff and computer system obsolescence. Moreover, Republicans in Congress argue that a “user fee” included in the bill and to be charged to tobacco manufacturers is really a tax. The House version of the bill would increase the user fee over a 10-year period to offset an expected loss in cigarette and tobacco tax revenue due to the new regulations. Republicans make the point that increasing a user fee to recover more than just the FDA’s cost of administering the regulations constitutes a new tax. Last year, the U.S. Senate Health, Education and Pensions Committee passed a similar bill that would authorize the FDA to regulate cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. However, the full Senate has not yet taken up the legislation. 2008 Tobacco Plus Expo!There is still time to register and attend the 2008 Tobacco Plus Expo, which will be held on April 24 and 25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The most important reasons for retailers who sell tobacco products to attend the Tobacco Plus Expo include free retail seminars for NATO members, the latest in tobacco products and accessories, numerous product show deals, and complimentary tickets to the NATO Annual Awards Dinner. Retailers can register to attend the 2008 Tobacco Plus Expo by visiting the show’s web site at www.tobaccoplusexpo.com and clicking “Attendees” or calling the toll-free registration hotline at 1-888-825-2299. • Join NATOIf you want help to protect your business, you need to belong to NATO. To join, visit the NATO web site at www.natocentral.org and complete and send in the membership application form that you will find under the “Join NATO” button. |
NATO NEWS: FDA Bill Moves Forward In Congress
During March, legislation that would grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products continued to receive hearings before Congressional committees.