Supporting Statement_2024_Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Data_Final

Federal Trade Commission
Supporting Statement
Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Data Collection
OMB Control # 3084-0134
Pursuant to compulsory process, the Commission sends each year information requests to
the largest cigarette manufacturers and smokeless tobacco manufacturers, seeking, 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 by them or related companies. This request
seeks approval of a three-year extension of the existing clearance. Additionally, the Commission
is seeking a modification of its existing clearance in order to collect information concerning
advertising and promotional expenditures for tobacco-free nicotine lozenges and pouches.
(1)

Necessity for Information Collection

Beginning in 1967, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) submitted
annual reports to Congress on cigarette sales and marketing pursuant to the Federal Cigarette
Labeling and Advertising Act. 15 U.S.C. §§ 1331-1341. Beginning in 1987, the FTC submitted
biennial reports to Congress on smokeless tobacco pursuant to the Comprehensive Smokeless
Tobacco Health Education Act. 15 U.S.C. §§ 4401-4408. The reports were based on data
submitted by the largest cigarette and smokeless tobacco manufacturers of products sold in the
United States.
The Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 1 allowed the agency to decide
whether to continue publishing these reports. In response to a request for public comment, 2 many
public health and tobacco control advocates cited the importance and utility of the FTC’s reports,
and the Commission has continued to issue them annually.
More than twenty years ago, the Commission decided to address its information requests
to the ultimate parent of each of the leading cigarette and smokeless tobacco manufacturers in
order to ensure that no relevant data from affiliated companies went unreported. This increased
the number of separately incorporated entities required to provide data, bringing the requirements
within the scope of the Paperwork Reduction Act (“PRA”). Since then, the Commission has
periodically updated its Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Orders in order to account for
changing conditions in the markets for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, including the changing
products sold by the cigarette and smokeless tobacco manufacturers or related companies. 3 In
doing so, the Commission ensures that its Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Reports continue to
provide relevant and accurate information.

Pub. L. No. 104-66, Section 3003(a)(1), 109 Stat. 734.
66 FR 18640 (Apr. 10, 2001).
3
See, e.g., 86 FR 28351 (May 26, 2021).
1

2

Because the Commission has reason to believe that (1) sales of tobacco-free nicotine
lozenges and pouches more than doubled between 2020 and 2022, 4 and (2) these products appear
to be especially popular with youth, 5 the Commission is now seeking a modification of the
existing clearance to allow for the collection of information concerning annual marketing
expenditures for tobacco-free nicotine lozenges and pouches by smokeless tobacco
manufacturers or related companies. Similar to the information collected pursuant to prior
modifications to this OMB clearance, the information is needed to ensure that the Commission’s
Smokeless Tobacco Reports continue to provide relevant and accurate information that in fact
reflects the current market.
It is necessary for the Commission to ensure that the Commission’s Cigarette and
Smokeless Tobacco Reports continue to provide accurate and up-to-date information because, as
one commenter noted, they (1) “provide information that is not available elsewhere,” and
(2) “often provide the basis for strong public health policies with regard to tobacco use and
marketing.” 6
(2)

Use of the Information

The Commission uses the information collected to publish periodic reports on cigarette
and smokeless tobacco sales and marketing. 7 This information helps the FTC’s and the public’s
understanding of the marketplace. To the FTC’s knowledge, the information published in these
reports is not available from any other source.
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 (hereinafter
collectively referred to as “recipients”). The information requests will seek data regarding,
among other things: (1) the cigarette or smokeless tobacco sales of recipients; (2) how much
recipients 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
recipients 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 recipients spend on advertising intended to reduce youth cigarette or smokeless tobacco
usage; (5) the events, if any, during which recipients’ cigarette or smokeless tobacco brands are
televised; and (6) how much recipients spend on public entertainment events promoting their
See, e.g., Fed. Trade Comm’n, Federal Trade Commission Smokeless Tobacco Report for 2022 (2023), at 10,
available at https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2022-Smokeless-Tobacco-Report.pdf.
5
See, e.g., Jan Birdsey et al., Tobacco Product Use Among U.S. Middle and High School Students — National Youth
Tobacco Survey, 2023, 72 Morbidity and Mortality Wkly. Rep. 1173 (Nov. 3, 2023), available at
https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7244a1.
6
Comment from Truth Initiative (May 28, 2024), available at https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FTC-20200049-0014 [hereinafter Truth Initiative Comment].
7
See, for example, the most recent reports under the existing PRA clearance at https://www.ftc.gov/reports/federaltrade-commission-cigarette-report-2022-smokeless-tobacco-report-2022. See also FTC Press Release, FTC Releases
Reports on Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Sales and Marketing Expenditures for 2022 (Oct. 30, 2023),
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/10/ftc-releases-reports-cigarette-smokeless-tobaccosales-marketing-expenditures-2022.
4

2

companies but not specific cigarette or smokeless tobacco products or such products generally.
The information requests to cigarette companies will also seek information pertaining to the
annual sales, giveaways, and marketing expenditures for electronic devices used to heat noncombusted cigarette products, and the information requests to smokeless tobacco companies will
also seek information concerning sales and advertising and promotional expenditures, including
the specific amounts spent in each of a number of specified expenditure categories, for tobaccofree nicotine lozenges and pouches.
(3)

Information Technology

Improved information technology may assist in gathering and producing this information.
The Commission will continue to allow the recipients to deliver their responses by electronic
mail, should they choose to do so, rather than preparing conventional submissions that must be
delivered through the mail or via courier service.
(4)

Efforts to Identify Duplication

There is no reliable information available elsewhere that can be used for these purposes.
In particular, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not collecting the sales and marketing
expenditure data regarding cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, the devices used to heat noncombusted cigarette products, or tobacco-free nicotine lozenges and pouches that would be
collected in response to the Commission’s 6(b) Orders.
(5)

Efforts to Minimize the Burden on Small Organizations

The requests to the four largest cigarette manufacturers and the five largest smokeless
tobacco manufacturers will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small
entities. Wherever possible, the FTC will attempt to minimize the time commitment necessary to
respond to the information requests. For example, among other things, the Commission’s 6(b)
Orders are drafted in a manner that is primarily intended to solicit information that is not publicly
available, which avoids the recipients’ need to unnecessarily spend time compiling information
that is already publicly available. Additionally, the Commission only sends its information
requests to the largest cigarette and smokeless tobacco manufacturers.
Recipients are already permitted to deliver their responses electronically; however, the
FTC will consider additional proposals for the use of information technology that may reduce
burden.
(6)

Consequences of Not Conducting the Collection or Conducting Less Frequently

If the information is not collected, the FTC will not have the data necessary to prepare the
reports, which, as some of the commenters noted, provide critical data to researchers,
policymakers, advocates, and the general public, 8 and “provide information that is not available

See Truth Initiative Comment, supra note 6; Comment from Andy Hernandez (Mar. 27, 2024), available at
https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FTC-2020-0049-0010 [hereinafter Individual Commenter I].

8

3

elsewhere.” 9 The burden of the information collection has been reduced as much as possible (see
Sections (3), (4), and (5) above), and the information is collected no more frequently than once
per year.
(7)

Circumstances Requiring Collection Inconsistent with Guidelines

The reporting requirements are consistent with all the applicable guidelines contained in
5 C.F.R. § 1320.5(d)(2).
(8)

Consultation Outside the Agency

As required by 5 C.F.R. § 1320.8(d)(1), the FTC sought public comment on its proposal
to extend and modify its current OMB clearance for the information collection requests, see 89
FR 20967 (Mar. 26, 2024), and is doing so again contemporaneously with this submission.
In response to its initial request for public comment, the Commission received three
germane comments. Two of the three comments express the commenters’ strong support for the
information collection, 10 while one individual commenter generally asserts that government
resources spent on collecting this information should be spent on other “much bigger issues”
instead. 11 However, as discussed in Section (1) above, the collection of the information is
necessary and useful. The remainder of this comment is not germane to this clearance request. 12
Both supportive comments assert that the FTC’s Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco
Reports provide critical data to researchers, policymakers, advocates, and the general public. 13
Truth Initiative reiterates the “powerful utility” of the FTC’s Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco
Reports by noting that the FTC’s Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Reports “provide information
that is not available elsewhere,” and “often provide the basis for strong public health policies
with regard to tobacco use and marketing.” 14 Additionally, Truth Initiative expresses its approval
of the Commission’s practice of updating its Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Orders to ensure
that the resulting reports continue to be relevant and reflect the current cigarette and smokeless
tobacco market. Specifically, in this context, Truth Initiative agrees that there is a need to modify
the existing clearance to allow for the collection of information concerning annual marketing
expenditures for tobacco-free nicotine lozenges and pouches by smokeless tobacco manufacturers
or related companies, and agrees with the Commission’s justifications for doing so. 15

See Truth Initiative Comment, supra note 6.
See Truth Initiative Comment, supra note 6; Individual Commenter I, supra note 8..
11
See Comment from DarkSoul Longlegs (Apr. 5, 2024), available at https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FTC2020-0049-0011.
12
Aside from the commenter’s general assertion that “[t]here are much bigger issues [that should be] track[ed],” the
remainder of the comment discusses general policy matters, such as access to healthcare, marijuana usage, and
reproductive rights. See id.
13
See supra note 8.
14
See Truth Initiative Comment, supra note 6.
15
See id. (citing Jan Birdsey et al., Tobacco Product Use Among U.S. Middle and High School Students — National
Youth Tobacco Survey, 2023, 72 Morbidity and Mortality Wkly. Rep. 1173 (Nov. 3, 2023), available at
https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7244a1).
9

10

4

Truth Initiative also recommends that the Commission make certain additional
modifications to its Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Orders.
First, Truth Initiative recommends that the Commission request information regarding
low nicotine cigarettes. Truth Initiative points out that, in December 2019, the FDA had
authorized the marketing by one company of two new tobacco products, which are combusted,
filtered cigarettes that contain a reduced amount of nicotine compared to typical commercial
cigarettes. 16 Truth Initiative acknowledges that “the market share of these products is extremely
small compared to other products,” but notes that “it is important that we understand the kind of
marketing that is used to promote these products.” 17 It recommends the Commission add the
manufacturer of these two products to the list of companies “required to fill out future Cigarette
Orders.” 18
The Commission’s Cigarette Reports focus on the largest cigarette manufacturers and do
not attempt to present a complete picture of the cigarette market. There are numerous smaller
manufacturers and importers of cigarettes to which the Commission does not direct its cigarette
Orders. Even if the Commission were to direct an order to the one company selling low nicotine
cigarettes, it could not publish data regarding “low nicotine” cigarettes because doing so would
result in publishing the one company’s confidential commercial information. The Commission
does not intend, at this time, to seek information specifically regarding low nicotine cigarettes, or
to direct an Order to the one company marketing such products.
Second, Truth Initiative suggests that the Commission collect and report on information
about the content of advertisements for certain products, such as heated, non-combusted
cigarettes and oral nicotine products; specifically, whether such products are being advertised as
less harmful or better alternatives to traditional cigarette and smokeless tobacco products or as
lifestyle products. In support of this recommendation, Truth Initiative notes that, for example, the
marketing of oral pouch products as “tobacco-free” alternatives to smoking may lead consumers
to ascribe lower risks to these products, despite a lack of evidence or proper federal
authorization. 19 Truth Initiative also recommends that the Commission collect information on
how “tobacco companies” use sponsored content in major media outlets to shift public
perception. In support of this recommendation, Truth Initiative notes that “[t]obacco companies .
. . [are] spending millions on ads designed to reposition them as aligned with public health.” 20
With respect to Truth Initiative’s suggestion that the Commission collect information on
certain types of advertising content, the Commission notes that the Cigarette and Smokeless
Tobacco Reports have historically provided data on sales and advertising expenditures.
Food and Drug Administration, FDA Permits Sale of Two New Reduced Nicotine Cigarettes Through Premarket
Tobacco Product Application Pathway (Dec. 17. 2019), available at https://www.fda.gov/news-events/pressannouncements/fda-permits-sale-two-new-reduced-nicotine-cigarettes-through-premarket-tobacco-productapplication.
17
See Truth Initiative Comment, supra note 6.
18
See id.
19
See id. (citing Patel Czaplicki et al., Oral Nicotine Marketing Claims in Direct-Mail Advertising, 31 Tobacco
Control 663 (2022), available at https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056446).
20
See Truth Initiative Comment, supra note 6 (citing Robin Koval et al., Tobacco Industry Advertising: Efforts to
Shift Public Perception of Big Tobacco with Paid Media in the USA, 32 Tobacco Control 801 (2023), available at
https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-057189).
16

5

Additionally, the Commission believes that expanding the scope of the requests to include this
type of information would divert critical resources from other mission priorities. Therefore, the
Commission declines to make these proposed modifications.
Third, Truth Initiative recommends that the Commission collect marketing data on cigars,
and notes that “[y]outh use cigars at rates similar to cigarettes, making marketing information
around cigars equally important.” 21 The collection of data regarding cigars is beyond the scope of
this supporting statement. The Commission respectfully declines the commenter’s
recommendation to seek marketing data on cigars as part of its information requests. The
Commission believes that doing so would divert critical resources from other mission priorities.
Fourth, Truth Initiative recommends that the Commission collect data on the organic, or
unpaid, promotion of tobacco products by influencers on social media. According to Truth
Initiative, the FTC’s Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Reports leave “out a crucial and
significant segment of how tobacco product use is promoted” because (1) “[t]obacco content is
commonplace on social media,” and (2) “[r]esearch shows exposure to tobacco content on social
media doubles the odds of tobacco use among young people compared to those who are not
exposed.” 22 Truth Initiative also suggests the Commission try to quantify this information by
gathering data from social media companies. As noted above, this type of gathering and
analyzing advertising content and assessing the impact of that advertising is beyond the scope of
these reports. 23
Truth Initiative also notes that one of its studies, which examined vaping influencers on
Instagram, found that “most influencer posts promoting vaping products were unambiguous
vaping advertisements promoting a specific brand or product,” and the majority of them did not
disclose the influencer’s brand relationship. 24 Accordingly, Truth Initiative also urges the
Commission to take enforcement actions against such social media posts on the basis that the
influencers’ failure to disclose their brand relationship constitutes a violation of the FTC’s
Endorsement Guides (16 CFR part 255). Because any such enforcement actions would be
independent from the Commission’s Cigarette Orders and Smokeless Tobacco Orders, this
recommendation is not germane to this clearance request.
(9)

Payments and Gifts to Respondents
There is no provision for payments or gifts to respondents.

See Truth Initiative Comment, supra note 6.
See id. (citing Scott I. Donaldson et al., Association Between Exposure to Tobacco Content on Social Media and
Tobacco Use, 176(9) JAMA Pediatrics 878 (July 11, 2022), available at
https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.2223; Daniel K. Cortese et al., Smoking Selfies: Using Instagram to
Explore Young Women’s Smoking Behaviors, Social Media + Society 4(3) (Aug. 7, 2018), available at
https://doi.org/10.1177/205630511879076).
23
Truth Initiative recognizes that gathering information from social media companies is beyond the scope of these
information requests. See Truth Initiative Comment, supra note 6.
24
Id. (citing Nathan A. Silver et al., Examining Influencer Compliance with Advertising Regulations in Branded
Vaping Content on Instagram, 10 Front. Public Health (Jan. 9, 2023), available at
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1001115).
21
22

6

(10) & (11)

Assurances of Confidentiality/Matters of a Sensitive Nature

In connection with the information requests, the Commission will receive information of
a confidential nature. Under Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 46(f), such information
will be protected from disclosure while it remains confidential commercial information.
Individual company information will be anonymized and/or aggregated so that it cannot be
disaggregated to disclose information about any submitter.
(12)

Estimated Annual Hours and Labor Cost Burden

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 6 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. 25
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 information pertaining to the
annual unit and dollar sales of tobacco-free nicotine lozenges and pouches by the smokeless
Based on their product variety, two of the four largest industry members receive both a Cigarette Order and a
Smokeless Tobacco Order.

25

7

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 noncombusted 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
pear + 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

8

of these individuals. 26 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).
(13)

Estimated Annual Capital or Other Non-labor Costs

The capital or other non-labor costs associated with the information collection are
minimal. Although recipients may have to preserve relevant business records to accommodate
the Commission’s information requirements, they already have the means in place to do so.
(14)

Estimate of Cost to the Federal Government

FTC staff estimates that, in collecting and analyzing this information, the total cost each
year to the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection is approximately $22,000. This estimate is
based on the assumption that about 6 percent of an attorney work year is devoted to those tasks.
The cost in attorney time will be approximately $11,000. In addition, about 6 percent of a data
senior analyst’s work year, approximately $11,000, will be devoted to processing the data
submitted.
(15)

Changes in Burden

Changes in burden are due to program changes, as well as adjustments to the
Commission’s previous estimates.
As indicated above, the Commission’s proposal to add requests for information
concerning annual marketing expenditures for tobacco-free nicotine lozenges and pouches by
smokeless tobacco manufacturers or related companies will result in a burden increase of
approximately 500 hours per year (10 requests x 50 hours per year).
Additionally, the Commission’s 2021 estimate assumed that six smaller industry
members would each spend one hour responding to the Commission’s requests for information
on electronic devices used to heat non-combusted cigarettes. However, as explained in the
Federal Register Notice, the Commission no longer expects any of the smaller industry members
to sell electronic devices used to heat non-combusted cigarettes in the United States.
Accordingly, this accounts for a burden decrease of approximately 6 hours per year (6 requests x
1 hour per year). Accordingly, there is a cumulative burden increase of 494 hours (3,046 hours in
2021 and 3,540 hours in 2024).

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: $31.95 for paralegals; $55.01 for computer and
information analysts; and $84.84 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 2023,
available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm. 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.

26

9

The Commission has also updated the hourly mean wage rates it used to estimate the
annual cost burden. Together with the two changes in burden discussed above, this leads to an
increase in estimated labor costs from $304,600 in 2021 to $407,100 in 2024.
(16)

Statistical Use of Information/Publication of Results

The information provided by the respondents will be used to prepare annual reports that
will be publicly released.
The proposed data collections do not employ statistical methods such as sampling or
imputation. The Commission does not attempt to describe the sales and marketing activities of
the cigarette industry as a whole. Instead, the Commission has focused only on the largest
players.
The Commission could attempt to perform reporting that is statistically representative of
the entire cigarette and smokeless tobacco industries, but doing so would first require preliminary
surveys of the respective industries to identify as many participants as possible, and then to gather
information on their sales and marketing expenditures. Conducting those preliminary surveys
would impose a burden on the recipients, many, if not most, of which—other than prior recipients
of the Commission’s 6(b) Orders—are likely to be small entities with low sales and even lower
marketing expenditures. This would also require significant additional agency resources, delaying
timely completion of the FTC’s reports. Issuing the 6(b) Orders to those very small entities could
impose a significant burden upon them. Further, given the Commission’s belief that the responses
provided by the four largest cigarette manufacturers and the five largest smokeless tobacco
manufacturers represent the vast majority of the industries’ sales and marketing expenditures, the
result would likely not be very different from that produced by the FTC’s proposed data
collections. Accordingly, the Commission believes that employing a statistically representative
approach is not in the public interest, because it would impose additional burdens far exceeding
its benefits.
(17) & (18)

Failure to Display the OMB Expiration Date/ Exceptions to Certification

Not applicable.

10