Thomas Briant is executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets. NATO’s toll free number is (866) 869-8888 and the association’s Web site address is www.natocentral.org.
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[ NATO NEWS ]
A winning year
For NATO and its members, 2005 will be a year for the legislative record books. This year, NATO's win-loss record on tobacco-related legislation has been phenomenal. The combined won-lost record for all state bills involving cigarette and tobacco tax increases, smoking bans, age-restriction bills and self-service display bans is:
- Wins: 55
- Losses: 17
- Pending: 11
Two of the "wins" are bills that NATO supported for passage; the other wins include the defeat of tax increases, smoking prohibitions, increasing the legal age to buy tobacco products and banning the display of tobacco products in open cases.
This impressive record is a testament to the effectiveness of grassroots lobbying efforts by NATO's professional legislative staff and its dedicated retail, wholesale and manufacturer members. The legislative results this year go along way toward reaching NATO's primary goal of fighting for tobacco stores and protecting the entire tobacco industry.
NATO and cigars
NATO is conducting a survey of all association retail members to collect data on how many stores have walk-in humidors, wall-case humidors or counter-top humidors and the premium brand cigars that these retailers offer to their customers.
Some within the tobacco industry perceive NATO retailers as selling primarily cigarettes. However, most association retailers are full-line tobacconists offering cigarettes, cigars, smokeless, roll-your-own tobacco and a wide variety of accessory products. The survey data will be compiled and provided to manufacturers and other industry allies to educate them about the emphasis NATO retailers place on the whole range of tobacco products, including domestic and premium cigars.
NATO and RTDA
At the annual RTDA Trade Show held in August, the NATO Government Affairs Committee and the RTDA Legislative Committee met and discussed ways to have the two associations work more closely together to oppose tobacco-related legislation. The meeting was productive and will aid both associations in a greater sharing of information on key legislative issues and better coordination in fighting unfair tobacco legislation.
2006 NATO Expo Gala
The 2006 NATO Conference and Expo will include an exciting new event when the industry gathers in Las Vegas from March 27-29 next year. The new event will be the NATO Industry Gala dinner to be held on the evening of Monday, March 27. This semi-formal event will bring tobacco retailers, distributors and manufacturers together for a major industry dinner and will include informative briefings on current tobacco legislative activity and the presentation of the annual NATO Pinnacle Awards. The NATO Gala is a throwback to the kind of large industry gatherings that were once commonplace among national tobacco-related trade associations.
Hurricane relief
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office in Lockport, La., put out a call for donations of cigarettes, cigars and smokeless tobacco products for the thousands of military personnel and police officers from around the country that are using Lockport as a staging area to bring order and relief to the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina. In response to the request, Altadis, U.S.A. has sent cigars, Smoker Friendly Stores and Nat Sherman, Inc. have shipped cigarettes and Swedish Match North America has sent moist snuff and chewing tobacco. These generous donations will be appreciated by the law enforcement and military personnel assisting in hurricane relief.
Welcome
New manufacturer and distributor members that have recently joined NATO include EWESTERN, Inc. and Konci G & D Management Group (USA), Inc. The support of these companies and the other numerous NATO manufacturer and wholesale members allows the association to remain the leader in fighting for tobacco stores and protecting the tobacco industry. |
