March 9, 2016: The Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) has joined the New Nicotine Alliance and other health experts in calling on Government to lift the ban on e-cigarettes without delay, so the potential for these products to help smokers kick the habit can be realised. The AACS has previously called on Governments around the country to take action and make e-cigarettes more readily available for responsible sale – so that those looking to quit smoking have this option. But now health experts are speaking up too. New Nicotine Alliance president Attila Danko today labelled draconian laws banning e-cigarettes as “monstrous”. Addressing a Senate inquiry in Sydney, Dr Danko suggested smoking could become obsolete if laws banning e-cigarettes were overturned. International studies back up the potential role e-cigarettes can play in tackling smoking. The August 2015 study entitled Electronic cigarettes: A report commissioned by Public Health England states that…

March 10, 2016: The release of the Victorian Government’s report into fuel drive-offs has been met with disappointment by the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), with the recommendations glossing over widespread calls for a proper deterrent for repeat offenders – civil or otherwise – and appearing to adopt an approach that “it’s all too hard”. AACS CEO Jeff Rogut said service station owners and employees across Victoria were optimistic that a genuine effort to tackle the spiralling crime of petrol theft was around the corner when the inquiry into fuel drive-offs, undertaken by the Law Reform, Road and Community Safety Committee, was announced. However the industry has instead been left with a series of empty recommendations that either ignore the small business perspective, or simply reinforce actions the industry has already independently taken. “One of the major concerns those in the industry have about petrol theft – aside from…

March 7, 2016 CSNews Its first foodservice-focused store opens in the area. CHICAGO — Convenience store chain Thorntons Inc. celebrated the opening of its first foodservice-focused store in the Chicago area last week with a “Friends & Family” soft opening on March 3. The store, located at 2095 East Algonquin Road, features both a grab-and-go kitchen and hot prepared foods. It’s the first in a series of new foodservice-focused Thorntons stores set to open in the greater Chicago area. The new format is designed to make the chain a food and beverage destination. Key features of the new Chicago store include: · Front and rear entrances, both of which enter into the middle of the store; · Upon entering the front entrance (from the fuel pumps), customers turn left into the foodservice area, which is notably larger than other comparable Thorntons stores in the area. · There is a food…