News You Can Use

News you can use:

Here you will find a news roundup with links that will enlighten you on what is happening in the world of tobacco. This feature will continue under the headline News You Can Use periodically. We start today.

From Tobacco Retailer:

Reach out to the FDA

The FDA has published a request in the Federal Register for public comments on how to implement various categories of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act law. You can still voice your thoughts to the FDA on many categories, including federal, state and local government collaboration, new product submission and approval, prevention, research and testing, products with “reduced harm/risk” claims, advertising and marketing of tobacco products, label statements and warnings (including graphic warnings), and more.

Tobacco Retailer says on its web site that it is “dedicated to the success of all tobacco retailers. Tobacco Retailer strives to be the strongest voice in the always-evolving tobacco retailing industry already reaching more than 15,000 tobacco store operators, traditional tobacconists, wholesalers and distributors.

“In an industry marked by price and legislative volatility, it is important that we report on the latest news, products and retailing strategies to keep tobacco businesses running most efficiently. Our coverage regularly features sales, marketing and operations articles, news and new products, personnel advice, cigar reviews, updates on the National Association of Tobacco Outlets and profiles of leading retailers.”

You can also learn about NATO (no, not that NATO), but the National Association of Tobacco Outlets on the Tobacco Retailer site. It is also offering an E-edition (which even USA Today is going to).

Tobacco Retailer also has a very good “links” page. Here you can find Friends of Tobacco.

FOT says “it is a grass-roots organization dedicated to preserving an essential part of America’s history and future. We believe that when any of our freedoms are taken away, all of our freedoms are at risk. Some people want that. Some people want to tell us that we can not enjoy ourselves after dinner, at work, in our cars, or in the privacy of our own home. If these people did not exist, we would not need to.”

Check it out.

Tobacco Retailer’s links page will also take you to Tobacco.org , an excellent site for current tobacco news.

Another newsworthy site is Cigar Rights of America. Among other things, it has an interactive map of America that shows the “hot spots” where tobacco legislation is either shaping up, being foisted off on the public, or already has been voted upon.

CRA also has a link to federal tobacco news. It is a great source of up-to-date news.

Here is the latest from CRA on the FDA Tobacco Czar:

FDA Tries to Smoke Out New Tobacco Czar

JUL 6 – Just two weeks after the FDA was given duties to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products , the agency is setting up a new Tobacco Division at its Maryland headquarters, our colleague Alicia Mundy reports on the Washington Wire blog.

To kick things off for the new division, the FDA recently posted a help-wanted ad for a tobacco center director. Applicants, it says, need substantial scientific expertise and experience in toxicology, epidemiology and public health.

The real test, Mundy says, will be knowing how play well on Capitol Hill and at the White House. Or as the FDA post says: “Substantial expertise and experience in the area of administrative procedure and regulation, including deep familiarity with Congressional operations and policymaking in the executive branch” are required.

Only U.S. citizens are eligible; the job pays $117,787 to $177,000 annually. And hurry. The application period ends July 9.

Americans for Prosperity is a site you must visit if you are interested in where your tax dollars are headed.

Here is what the AFP says its mission is:

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP Foundation) are committed to educating citizens about economic policy and mobilizing those citizens as advocates in the public policy process. AFP is an organization of grassroots leaders who engage citizens in the name of limited government and free markets on the local, state and federal levels. The grassroots members of AFP advocate for public policies that champion the principles of entrepreneurship and fiscal and regulatory restraint.

AFP Foundation is committed to educating citizens about economic policy and a return of the federal government to its Constitutional limits. AFP Foundation’s educational programs and analyses help policymakers, the media and individual citizens understand why policies that promote the American enterprise system are the best method to ensuring prosperity for all Americans. To that end, AFP and AFP Foundation supports:

• Cutting taxes and government spending in order to halt the encroachment of government in the economic lives of citizens by fighting proposed tax increases and pointing out evidence of waste, fraud, and abuse.
• Tax and Expenditure Limitations to promote fiscal responsibility.
• Removing unnecessary barriers to entrepreneurship and opportunity by sparking citizen involvement in the regulatory process early on in order to reduce red tape.
• Restoring fairness to our judicial system.

And here is one you may or may not find hard to believe: New York State’s legislators, with the help of the governor have passed a huge retail license fee increase onto all retail outlets in the state.

You can find this piece of tax ripoff news at CSP, but here is a taste of the story:

ALBANY, N.Y. — Nine associations representing New York state retailers have jointly launched “Operation Rollback,” an industry-wide drive to undo the large increase in retail tobacco registration fees approved in the 2009-2010 New York State budget.

Over the strenuous objections of retailers, Governor David Paterson and the state legislature approved an increase from the current $100 per store per year to either $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000 annually, depending on sales volume—sales of everything, even including motor fuel, which typically accounts for two-thirds of gross sales of convenience stores offering gasoline.

Stay tuned.