FDA to Contact Advertising Vendors to Place Ads at Retail; Schedules Webinar

As reported in the NATO News earlier this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced an adult smoking cessation education campaign focusing on encouraging cigarette smokers to quit through the use of advertisements displayed in and around service stations and convenience stores. In response to that announcement, NATO members inquired how the FDA would be contacting retailers to seek to place these advertisements in stores.

FDA staff has informed NATO that the agency will not contact retail stores directly, but rather purchase advertising space through media vendors that offer advertising space in retail locations. The FDA emphasized that this means there will not be any direct contact with retailers or retail corporate offices to place the advertisements.

Also, to clarify the list of 35 counties that will be targeted for advertisement placement, the City of Lynchburg, Virginia is one of the target communities. There is no Lynchburg County, Virginia as noted on the FDA list of counties.