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FDA issues ‘no-sell’ order of tobacco products to various retailers
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The FDA has initiated a first-of-its-kind complaint that would force a group of retailers to stop their sale of tobacco products for 30 days, according to a press release.
In order for the FDA to issue a No-Tobacco-Sale-Order complaint, retailers must have violated tobacco sale and distribution restrictions, including the sale of tobacco to minors, five or more times.
If the FDA complaints go into effect, the retailers must stop the sale of all tobacco products; however, they would not be required to remove or cover up products. The retailers would be subject to random compliance checks during the 30-day no-sale period.
Retailers have 30 days to respond to the FDA’s complaint. Targeted retailers are located in Detroit, Baltimore, Chicago, Newark, New Jersey and Columbia, Missouri.
“Retailers are the first line of defense in preventing the illegal sale of harmful and addictive products like cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to youth. These enforcement actions will send a powerful message to all retailers that there are real consequences for repeatedly violating the law,” Mitch Zeller, JD, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said in the release.