Convenience Stores' Case for Cigarettes

Convenience-store owners are citing congressional criticism of the FDA’s handling of food safety to argue that lawmakers shouldn’t give the same agency power over retailers that peddle cigarettes . “There’s a disconnect,” argues Lyle Beckwith, senior vice president of the National Association of Convenience Stores. A bill likely to be passed next week by the Senate health committee would grant the FDA the ability to restrict promotion and sales of tobacco products. A parallel bill has been introduced in the House, where it has strong support but has yet to be considered by the Energy and Commerce Committee. Beckwith says the stakes for his members are high: “Losing the ability to sell tobacco products closes a convenience store.”