PACT Act put on temp. hold!

[STINKBOTO]

I just got this email from genuine tobacco.com
Great news from Genuine Tobacco Company!

FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT ORDERS A TEMOPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERCIA, PREVENTING THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE PACT ACT

As many of you know, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 (PACT Act) went into effect today. This act prohibits the mailing of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, RYO/MYO tobacco, etc. This was the worst possible news that we could have received as this means that we cannot serve our customers in the fashion that you have become accustomed to.

This week brought some great news as Federal district Judge Richard Arcara allowed for a temporary restraining order preventing the enforcement of the act. A hearing has been scheduled for July 7, 2010 in the United States District Court, Western District of New York.

Until further notice, we once again are accepting orders for smokeless tobacco, leaf tobacco, snus, and RYO/MYO cigarette tobacco in addition to cigars and pipe tobacco. You may begin placing your order through our web site today; however, there may be a delay in shipping your product until we are able to rebuild our inventories of products and supplies.

[danielan]

As I understand this was only for 1 company and then only for a week.

[Experimental Monkey]

That is awesome. I hope more retailers jump on board and attend this hearing. *cough* NORTHERNER, BUYSNUS, JONATHAN FROM CLUBSNUS, LARRY WATERS, AND ANYONE ELSE THAT SELLS SMOKELESS TOBACCO ONLINE! *cough*

On a side note, GenuineTobacco.com has some damn good prices on dip, chew, and General snus.

Edit: The Seneca nation also was granted a restraining order on PACT, weren't they?

[snusgetter]

U r rite kemosabe...

As I understand this was only for 1 company and then only for a week.

"Mail-order cigarette shops close
New federal law hits Seneca businesses except for one that filed suit" http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/06/3...ops-close.html

But maybe this could be something big

[TheJanitor]

True but look at what is being questioned in the case,if pact is found unconstitional it could be dead before it really even starts.


Federal Judge Richard J. Arcara: "PACT Act violates various provisions of the Constitution, including the commerce clause, the 10th amendment, the due-process clause and the equal protection clause."

[EricHill78]

As I understand this was only for 1 company and then only for a week.

I hope you're wrong, I'd love to put in one last order to buysnus...

[snusgetter]

But this is just one judge's position ...

July 7 the case could end up going to appeals or the shop just might lose out...

[justintempler]

http://www.nacsonline.com/NACS/News/...ND0630101.aspx

Judge Stops Cigarette Mail Ban
The ruling temporarily puts on hold the new law that prohibits shipping cigarettes through the U.S. Postal Service. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court refuses to consider a tobacco racketeering appeals.
June 30


SALAMANCA, N.Y. – Federal District Judge Richard Arcara temporarily ordered a new law that disallows cigarettes to be shipped via the mail to be placed on hold, the Associated Press reports.

A Seneca Indian Nation tobacco business owner asked for the restraining order to stop the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act) to take effect yesterday. A July 7 hearing has been scheduled to hear the case.

“We are very disappointed in the ruling and reviewing all possibilities for a legal response. NACS was a strong proponent for passage of the PACT Act and worked for years to obtain its enactment,” said Lyle Beckwith, NACS senior vice president of government relations. “We will not stop fighting.”

The Senecas contend that the act will harm its multi-million dollar tobacco industry and cut 3,000 jobs. The tribe estimates that member businesses sell four out of each five cigarette packs via mail order. “It’s a major impact, a major obstacle we’re going to have to find a way to overcome,” said J.C. Seneca, a tribe counselor.

Tobacco companies praised the act for helping to stop customers from not paying state taxes, from which Native American businesses are exempt. But Indians see the new law as against tribal sovereignty and a way for tobacco companies to gobble up lost market share.
Cigarette mail orders accounted for $30 million to $40 million in annual revenue for the U.S. Postal Service, said spokeswoman Karen Mazurkiewicz.

Other delivery companies, including DHL, FedEx and UPS, do not ship cigarettes under arrangements with state attorneys general designed to keep tobacco out of the hands of minors.

In other tobacco news, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to look at a ruling that said tobacco companies broke racketeering laws. The court refused to hear appeals by the government and the tobacco industry, which wanted to have lower-court decisions reversed. The government filed an appeal against cigarette manufacturers trying to collect up to $280 billion from past tobacco profits and an additional $14 billion for a national anti-smoking campaign.

[spirit72]

Yeah, I'd been wondering when the heck this was gonna happen. I never expected PACT to actually get this close to enforcement, frankly.

[c.nash]

This need to be a bigger thing than it is.

I want to see this on CNN and shit!

[snusgetter]

Talk about being out of the loop...

If these are Indian mail-order prices what do retail stores charge?



(screengrab from the outfit mentioned in the article)

[ladysnus]

Soooo Frank,,,,press the tax off button. And turn on USPS while your at it .
I want some Wintergreen Oomph!

[NonServiam]

We'll see what happens. I just bought my first can of American dip today since I stopped dipping 7 months ago. Picked up a can of Swedish Match's (Pinkerton Tobacco) Timberwolf Fine Cut Natural.

I did a dry run through Getsnus, and 20 cans of General ES loose cost me about $100.00 after my state's 60% tax and the S/H. That's $5.00 a can! I just can't afford that. If I could afford that I would've dipped Copenhagen and Skoal all these years. It's not that it would put me in the poorhouse by any means, but I just don't want to pay that much for tobacco. The gov't won't be getting my tax money via PACT or via anything if I have a choice in it. Which I do in this case. A can of Timberwolf or Redman is only $2.50 at the indian smoke shop 1/2 a mile down the road.

Even if this PACT Act is stricken, I worry that the gov't will be so pissed about it, that they start to actually enforce internet tobacco purchasers to pay their local state taxes. Something in the fine print that we all should be doing, but I know we're not. The state tax paperwork is a hassle I'm sure, so I just don't want to risk it. I'm sure the gov't won't be monitoring every purchase, they will probably just pull batches at random. I would never be lucky enough to win the lottery, but I bet I'd be lucky enough to have my purchase pulled for review out of thousands.

I've got about 10 cans of snus left, 5 Skruf and 5 General ES. After that, I'll be back on American dip, but only the Timberwolf because it has the lowest TSNA's.

This really sucks for you smokers, and I feel for ya. Although, even after PACT pricing, I would think snus'n would be still be cheaper than smoking. Then of course there's those folk who are now in banned states.

[amdusias]

This still doesnt help me at all.

[danielan]

http://www.lininteractive.com/ny_buf...6-28-10%29.pdf

Maybe it is completely on hold until the 7th.

I don't know enough about this to speculate.

Does anyone know if this restraining order applies to anyone other then Red Earth LLC? Or outside the Western District of New York?