An interesting article posted over at the Convenience Store News website shows the FDA this week issued a guidance document titled, “Determination of the Period Covered by a No Tobacco Sales Order and Compliance with an Order.”
The article which states under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the FDA was authorized to conduct retail compliance inspections and impose fines for violations that would culminate in a “no-tobacco-sales” order for repeat violations.
The order would be issued by the FDA to a specific retail location that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products for a specified time or an indefinite period.
The order would be issued if a retail location had repeated violations of federal tobacco regulations, some of which include failure to ask for ID of a customer who appears to be under the age of 27 or selling tobacco to a minor.
According to the guidance document the FDA is proposing the following time periods:
- First No-Tobacco-Sales Order: 30 days
- Second No-Tobacco Sales Order: 6 months
- Third or More No-Tobacco-Sales Orders: Permanent Prohibition on Selling Tobacco Products
However, before a retailer is faced with such an order the FDA will use the following fine schedule for violations of the federal tobacco regulations:
- First violation: No fine, but a warning letter to the retailer
- Second violation within a 12-month period: $250
- Third violation within a 24-month period: $500
- Fourth violation within a 24-month period: $2,000
- Fifth violation within a 36-month period: $5,000
- Sixth violation within a 48-month period: $11,000
More information can be found on the CSP website.
