One area distributor says new Food and Drug Administration oversight powers don't appear to be negatively impacting tobacco sales in the St. Joseph area following recent restrictions on flavored cigarettes.

However, those changes are likely just the beginning as anti-smoking/anti-tobacco groups continue to watch what other changes the FDA has in store.

Brian Dickins, owner of Saint Joe Distributing, said sales of chewing tobacco have increased as flavored cigarettes are done away with. Others who prefer flavored tobacco simply can buy small flavored cigars, which are close to the size of a cigarette and come in smaller packages, but cost almost half as much.

"Basically, the money is just moving to someplace else," Mr. Dickins said. "So they knocked out clove cigarettes, big deal. Smokers are going to smoke something, no matter what."

But the FDA isn't just blowing smoke. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which went into effect in June, is targeted at youth prevention and advertising.

Victoria Warren, program coordinator for the comprehensive tobacco control program for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said FDA initiatives targeting youth tobacco usage is much needed in Missouri where the state has the nation's second-lowest cigarette tax (17 cents) and the fourth-highest population percentage of adult smokers - 25 percent, according to 2008 statistics.

She said in many cases, adult smokers began in their teens. Ms. Warren said that although chocolate or other candy-flavored cigarettes weren't necessarily the preferred choice of those in their later teens, they were a draw for those more in middle school.

The next step from the FDA, she said, is for all cigarette advertising to be only in black and white while requiring more graphic images and warnings.

"The design of all this is to keep kids from smoking and being tempted to," Ms. Warren said. "We want to get to a point where smoking isn't viewed as 'the norm.'"

That goal has been inching closer to reaching fruition throughout the past few years - before the FDA was given regulatory powers over the tobacco industry. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported last year that since 1998, U.S. cigarette sales have declined by approximately 2 percent each year.

However, both Mr. Dickins and the report share the same view: that while cigarette use might decrease, cigar, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco use are increasing.

Meanwhile, FDA officials are still accepting public comments on its Web site at www.fda.gov concerning the new tobacco regulatory powers. The deadline for accepting public comment was extended until Dec. 28.

Jeff Schmucker can be reached at jeff.schmucker@npgco.com.