NATO membership is open to retailers that primarily sell tobacco products, tobacco wholesalers and tobacco manufacturers. As soon as you become a member, you will begin benefiting from NATO’s assistance in responding to tobacco legislation. Become a NATO member and join the growing number of tobacco retailers and wholesalers that want their voice heard on anti-tobacco legislation. You can have an impact on legislation that affects your business and NATO is the only national tobacco trade association that offers this kind of grassroots legislative lobbying help to its members.

2003 Legislative Issues
In 2003, many states will once again attempt to solve all or a part of massive budget deficits by increasing taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products. During 2002, 36 states considered legislation to increase cigarette and/or tobacco excise taxes and actual increases were passed in 21 states. Many states that did not pass a cigarette/tobacco tax increase will most likely try to do so again in 2003 and even some of those states that did enact an increase in 2002 may attempt to further raise excise taxes this year.

Last year, several bills were introduced in Congress that would grant the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate the manufacture, advertisement, and retail sale of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. While these bills did not make significant headway in 2002, some of these same bills have been re-introduced in Congress just last month. The retail regulations in these bills and severe retailer penalties need to be opposed by tobacco stores. If these bills proceed in Congress, NATO will once again write to Congressional committee members to educate them about the severe impact the bills would have on tobacco stores and assist NATO retailers to contact their federal elected officials to oppose the retail portions of the FDA bills.

One or more states may also introduce legislation that would ban all self-service displays in retail stores, including tobacco outlets and tobacconist stores. Since most tobacco stores do not allow minors to enter, NATO will work to exempt tobacco stores from self-service display bans.

Membership Drive
As a result of an extensive nationwide membership drive last fall along with a special 2003 retail membership promotion courtesy of Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, more than 1,450 tobacco stores are now members of NATO. In fact, the latest promotion in which one-half of a new retailer’s 2003 membership dues are being paid by B & W has alone resulted in 350 new tobacco stores joining the NATO ranks.

Besides the on-going membership drives, 98% of retailers that were members of NATO in 2001 renewed their membership in 2002. This extremely high renewal rate demonstrates, in part, that retailers who join NATO are benefiting from the help that they receive from NATO on tobacco legislative matters.

NATO Conference and Exposition
The NATO Conference and Expo will be one of the largest tobacco retail trade shows and conferences in the country. The NATO Expo will be held on March 25-27, 2003 at the Rio Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. From the trade show floor with hundreds of exhibitors to the numerous educational seminars, tobacco retailers will find the NATO Expo to be the tobacco show to attend this year.

There may have been some confusion about two tobacco retail trade shows being held in Las Vegas in March. However, the International Tobacco Expo has just recently been merged into the NATO Expo. Now, with the former International Tobacco Expo becoming a part of the new NATO Expo, the NATO Expo is the only tobacco show for retailers this March in Las Vegas and it should not be missed.

The NATO annual association meeting is also held during the NATO Expo and provides an excellent opportunity for tobacco retailers and wholesalers to learn what NATO has been working on and why becoming a member of NATO is so important.

All NATO members and non-members, including retailers and wholesalers, are strongly encouraged to attend and be a part of the NATO Expo.

To learn more about the NATO Expo, visit www.natoexpo.com.

Thomas Briant is executive director of NATO; National Association of Tobacco Outlets, 15560 Boulder Pointe Road, Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55347, Toll Free: (866) 869-8888, Fax: (952) 934-744, Web: www.natocentral.org.