Notice2024-06350
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension and Modification
Primary source
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Published
March 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC" or "Commission") has clearance from the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") to send information requests, pursuant to compulsory process, to a combined ten or more of the largest cigarette manufacturers and smokeless tobacco manufacturers. The information sought includes, among other things, data on the manufacturers' annual sales and marketing expenditures for cigarettes, smokeless tobacco products, and electronic devices used to heat non-combusted cigarettes, and sales of tobacco-free nicotine lozenges and pouches. The current OMB clearance expires on August 31, 2024. The Commission plans to ask OMB for renewed three-year clearance to collect this information, and to modify its existing clearance to allow for the collection of additional information concerning annual marketing expenditures for tobacco-free nicotine lozenges and pouches by smokeless tobacco manufacturers or related companies.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 59 (Tuesday, March 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20967-20970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06350]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension and Modification
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') has
clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') to send
information requests, pursuant to compulsory process, to a combined ten
or more of the largest cigarette manufacturers and smokeless tobacco
manufacturers. The information sought includes, among other things,
data on the manufacturers' annual sales and marketing expenditures for
cigarettes, smokeless tobacco products, and electronic devices used to
heat non-combusted cigarettes, and sales of tobacco-free nicotine
lozenges and pouches. The current OMB clearance expires on August 31,
2024. The Commission plans to ask OMB for renewed three-year clearance
to collect this information, and to modify its existing clearance to
allow for the
[[Page 20968]]
collection of additional information concerning annual marketing
expenditures for tobacco-free nicotine lozenges and pouches by
smokeless tobacco manufacturers or related companies.
DATES: Comments must be filed by May 28, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Tobacco Reports; PRA
Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment, and file your comment
online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> by following the instructions on
the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office
of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Ostheimer, Division of
Advertising Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mailstop CC-10507, Washington,
DC 20580, (202) 326-2699.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FTC Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Data Collection.
OMB Control Number: 3084-0134.
Type of Review: Revision and extension of currently approved
collection.
Likely Respondents: Parent companies of the largest cigarette
companies and smokeless tobacco companies.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 3,540 disclosure hours.
Estimated Annual Labor Costs: $407,100.
Abstract: Pursuant to section 6(b) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(b),
the Commission collects information on sales and/or marketing of
cigarettes, smokeless tobacco products, tobacco-free nicotine lozenges
and pouches, and electronic devices used to heat non-combusted
cigarettes (collectively, ``subject products'') from manufacturers of
cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Depending on the type of
product a manufacturer produces, the Commission requests the
information using two different instruments--that is, a Cigarette Order
and a Smokeless Tobacco Order. The Commission compiles and publishes
the data in two periodic reports.
Using compulsory process under section 6(b) of the FTC Act, the
Commission plans to continue sending information requests annually to
the ultimate parent companies of the largest cigarette companies and
smokeless tobacco companies in the United States (collectively,
``industry members''). The information requests will seek data
regarding, among other things: (1) the cigarette or smokeless tobacco
sales of industry members; (2) how much industry members spend
advertising and promoting their cigarette or smokeless tobacco
products, and the specific amounts spent in each of a number of
specified expenditure categories; (3) whether industry members are
involved in the appearance of their cigarette or smokeless tobacco
products or brand imagery in television shows, motion pictures, on the
internet, or on social media; (4) how much industry members spend on
advertising intended to reduce youth cigarette or smokeless tobacco
usage; (5) the events, if any, during which industry members' cigarette
or smokeless tobacco brands are televised; and (6) how much industry
members spend on public entertainment events promoting their companies
but not specific cigarette or smokeless tobacco products or such
products generally. The information requests will also seek information
from the cigarette companies pertaining to the annual sales, give
aways, and marketing expenditures for electronic devices used to heat
non-combusted cigarette products.
While, in previous years, the information requests only sought
information pertaining to the annual unit and dollar sales of tobacco-
free nicotine lozenges and pouches, the Commission plans to seek a
modification of its existing clearance in order to collect information
concerning advertising and promotional expenditures for tobacco-free
nicotine lozenges and pouches. The need to collect this information is
predicated upon the fact that sales of tobacco-free nicotine lozenges
and pouches more than doubled between 2020 and 2022, and these products
appear to be especially popular with youth.
The current PRA clearance to collect this information is valid
through August 31, 2024 (OMB Control No. 3084-0134). As required by
section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the FTC is
providing this opportunity for public comment before requesting that
OMB renew the clearance for the PRA burden associated with the proposed
collection, and the proposed modification.
Burden Statement
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 3,540.
The FTC staff's estimated hours of burden is based on the time
required each year to respond to the Commission's information requests.
Because the potential recipients of the information requests vary
greatly in size, the number of products they sell, and the extent and
variety of their advertising and promotion, FTC staff distinguishes
between the four largest industry members and smaller industry members
for the purpose of calculating the estimated annual burden hours. This
burden analysis first discusses the burden hours that industry members
will incur in providing information on their sales and marketing
expenditures for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.
Requests for Information on Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco: For
the information requests on the sales and marketing expenditures for
cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products, the Commission currently
anticipates sending information requests to the four largest cigarette
companies and the five largest smokeless tobacco companies each year.
However, in order to take into account any future industry changes, the
burden estimate is based on up to 15 information requests being issued
per year. The Commission assumes that six of the 15 information
requests will be issued to the four largest industry members, and the
remaining nine information requests will be issued to nine smaller
industry members.\1\
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\1\ Based on their product variety, two of the four largest
industry members receive both a Cigarette Order and a Smokeless
Tobacco Order.
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FTC staff estimates that each of the four largest industry members
will incur, on average, a burden of 400 hours per response per year,
resulting in a cumulative burden of approximately 2,400 hours per year
(6 requests x 400 hours per year). Additionally, FTC staff estimates
that the remaining nine smaller recipients of the Commission's
information requests will each incur, on average, a burden of 60 hours
per request per year, resulting in a cumulative burden of approximately
540 hours per year (9 requests x 60 hours).
Accordingly, FTC staff estimates that, for the purpose of providing
information on their sales and marketing for cigarettes and smokeless
tobacco products industry members will incur a cumulative burden of
approximately 2,940 hours per year (2,400 hours per year + 540 hours
per year).
Requests for Information on Tobacco-Free Nicotine Lozenges and
Pouches: In the past, the Commission's Smokeless Tobacco Orders have
also sought
[[Page 20969]]
information pertaining to the annual unit and dollar sales of tobacco-
free nicotine lozenges and pouches by the smokeless tobacco
manufacturers or related companies. The Commission is proposing to
amend its existing OMB clearance to also collect data on smokeless
tobacco manufacturers' annual advertising and promotional expenditures
for tobacco-free nicotine lozenges and pouches. FTC staff estimates
that, as a result of this modification, the Commission will seek this
information from the five largest smokeless tobacco manufacturers each
year. However, in order to take into account any future industry
changes, the burden estimate is based on up to five additional
information requests being issued per year to smokeless tobacco
companies that sell, or have related companies that sell, tobacco-free
nicotine lozenges and pouches.
FTC staff estimates that each of the ten recipients will incur, on
average, a burden of 50 hours per request per year. Accordingly, FTC
staff estimates that, for the purpose of providing information on the
sales and marketing expenditures for tobacco-free nicotine lozenges and
pouches, the recipients will incur a cumulative burden of approximately
500 hours per year (10 requests x 50 hours per year).
Requests for Information on Devices to Heat Non-Combusted
Cigarettes: The Commission's Cigarette Orders have also sought sales
and marketing expenditure information for electronic devices used to
heat non-combusted cigarettes. At this time, there is no longer any
industry member that sells such devices in the United States, but FTC
staff anticipates that at least one of the four largest industry
members will re-enter this market segment over the next three years.
FTC staff assumes that, as a result of the Commission's information
requests, it will take any of the largest cigarette companies that sell
electronic devices used to heat non-combusted cigarettes approximately
25 hours per year to compile the information on their sales and
marketing expenditures for such devices, and that as many as four of
the largest industry members may sell such devices, for a possible
burden of 100 hours (4 requests x 25 hours per year).
Accordingly, FTC staff estimates that, as a result of the
Commission's requests for information on sales and marketing for the
subject products, market participants will incur a cumulative burden of
approximately 3,540 hours per year (2,940 hours per year + 500 hours
per year + 100 hours per year). This estimate includes any time spent
by separately incorporated subsidiaries and other entities affiliated
with the ultimate parent company that receives the information request.
Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $407,100.
FTC staff cannot calculate with precision the labor costs
associated with this data production, as those costs entail varying
compensation levels of management and/or support staff among companies
of different sizes. FTC staff assumes that paralegals and computer
analysts will perform most of the work involved in responding to the
Commission information requests, although in-house legal personnel will
be involved in reviewing the actual submission to the Commission. FTC
staff will use a combined hourly wage of $115/hour for the combined
efforts of these individuals.\2\ Using this figure, FTC staff's best
estimate for the total annual labor costs is $407,100 per year ($115
per hour x 3,540 hours).
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\2\ FTC staff believes that this estimate is conservative.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean
hourly wages for these three occupations are as follows: $30.21 for
paralegals; $53.15 for computer and information analysts; and $78.74
for lawyers. Economic News Release, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Table 1--National employment and wage data from the Occupational
Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2022 (Table 1),
available at <a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm">http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm</a>. Even if
employees of the major cigarette and smokeless tobacco manufacturers
earn more than these hourly wages, FTC staff believes its $115/hour
estimate is appropriate.
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Estimated Capital or Other Non-Labor Cost: De minimis.
FTC staff believes that the capital or other non-labor costs
associated with the information requests are minimal. Although the
information requests may necessitate that industry members maintain the
requested information provided to the Commission, they should already
have in place the means to compile and maintain business records.
Request for Comment
Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites
comments on: (1) whether the disclosure and recordkeeping requirements
are necessary, including whether the information will be practically
useful; (2) the accuracy of our burden estimates, including whether the
methodology and assumptions used are valid; (3) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information.
For the FTC to consider a comment, we must receive it on or before
May 28, 2024. Your comment, including your name and your state, will be
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
You can file a comment online or on paper. Due to the agency's
heightened security screening, postal mail addressed to the Commission
will be subject to delay. We encourage you to submit your comments
online through the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``Tobacco Reports; PRA
Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment and on the envelope,
and mail it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office
of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20580.
Because your comment will become publicly available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, you are solely responsible for making sure that
your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by
section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including, in particular, competitively sensitive
information, such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must (1) be filed in paper form, (2) be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and (3) comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request and
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has
been posted publicly at
[[Page 20970]]
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, we cannot redact or remove your comment unless you
submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such
treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that
request.
The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this
proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and
responsive public comments that it receives on or before May 28, 2024.
For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including routine
uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy">https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy</a>.
Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2024-06350 Filed 3-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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