Last week, the FDA issued a press release regarding an update on the agency's retail compliance inspection program. The press release indicated that, to date, more than 27,500 retail compliance inspections have been conducted by the 38 state agencies and the District of Columbia that are under contract with the FDA to perform these compliance checks. Of the 27,500 retailers inspected, the FDA has issued 1,200 warning letters.
In response to the FDA's press release, NATO issued its own press release to all daily newspapers across the country focusing on the significant number of retailers that passed the compliance inspections and complied with FDA tobacco regulations. As noted in NATO's press release, 96% of retailers inspected have passed the FDA compliance inspections. This is a major achievement for the retail tobacco industry, especially when another national report issued by the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found in fiscal year 2010 that 90.7% of retailers nationwide successfully passed compliance checks and did not sell tobacco products to a minor.
The NATO press release can be accessed by clicking here; FDA's release can be accessed by clicking here.
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