The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Compliance (CTP) has updated its compliance check enforcement activity of retailers selling tobacco, revealing a sharp increase in the number of compliance checks.
Analysis of the CTP data by the We Card Program, which uses publicly available data at fda.gov, shows the 2012 totals and rates through August 31 are as follows:
- Total compliance checks: 67,096. This is up sharply from 2010 and 2011, when the totals were 507 and 35,462, respectively.
- Number of “no” violations: 63,873. This is a significant rise from 2010
and 2011, when the totals were 483 and 33,720, respectively. - Number of warning letters: 2,845 compared to 24 in 2010 and 1,734 in 2011.
- Number of civil money penalties: 378 compared to none in 2010 and 8 in 2011, with the average penalty $646.74.
Despite
the sharp rise in the number of violations, the violation rate this
year (4.80%) is down from 2011 (4.91%) and below the three-year average
(4.84%). Of the 37 states and Washington, D.C., that have FDA
enforcement contracts, 36 states show enforcement activity. Of the
states with contracts, only Hawaii and New Mexico do not show any
compliance check data yet. (NACS: www.nacsonline.com)
