I hardly advocate smoking these days, but I definitely think that henceforth, all cigarette smokers in the US should start buying them from the Senecas.
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Yes. Too bad the Senecas don't sell snus! Good for them and I'm hoping they win this case! It's all about FREEDOM in the end.Originally posted by spirit72 View PostComment
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Originally posted by dreed2 View Post
Actually, some of them were selling
- Camel Snus
- Discreet Snus
- Nordic Ice
- Stonewall
- Ariva
There was also talk they were interested in the General line.
But, thanks to the PACT Act, they never really got that off the ground.Comment
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Huge bummer, snusgetter! Stonewall is pretty good! I managed to buy some of it before the sh!t hit the fan here in taxachusetts.Originally posted by snusgetter View PostComment
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Prohibition and regulation = increase in demand. Not to mention a creating a new class of criminals who find creative and/or risky ways to circumvent the law.
Take a look at what a cruel, lame joke the drug war is. Tobacco is progressing toward the same direction, being banned outright. I better find an illegal AK-47 now and plan how to make a fortune dealing snus on the street.
The justification of funding terrorist sects through "tobacco piracy" is the biggest load of horses**t ever, especially when these same politicians are all for a mosque at ground zero. The complete lack of logic this government displays makes me laugh out loud.Comment
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They've already decided to change the policy:
Tobacco Shipments to Resume to Soldiers Overseas
Nashville, Tenn. (AP) - The U.S. Postal Service said Thursday that it plans to resume shipping care packages with cigarettes and other tobacco to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A law aimed at preventing smuggling had unintentionally banned families from sending tobacco to military members serving overseas. Spokesman Greg Frey said the postal service is planning to issue new instructions that could allow shipments to resume possibly as soon as Aug. 27.
The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 quietly took effect June 29 and was created to prevent minors from ordering cigarettes through the mail. It allowed for small shipments of tobacco but required a way to verify the recipient was old enough - meaning the only way to ship the packages through the postal service was by Express Mail, which requires a signature.Comment
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That's the fastest I have ever seen the government move LOL Great to hear though, common sense prevails. The anti's must be rolling over in their graves (sorry, wishful thinking).Originally posted by jh345 View PostComment
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I've never known of children buying their tobacco through the mail.Comment
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Hell no. Kids are too impatient. When they want cigs they want them now, it's not a premeditated act where they plan on their smoking habit for the next month and order accordingly. It's a crime of opportunity. They find someone to buy them for them and they smoke them. That won't change.Originally posted by tom502 View PostComment
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Here's the full story with specifics..
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Tobacco shipments to resume to soldiers overseas
By KRISTIN M. HALL
Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The U.S. Postal Service said Thursday that it plans to resume shipping care packages with cigarettes and other tobacco to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A law aimed at preventing smuggling had unintentionally banned families from sending tobacco to military members serving overseas. Spokesman Greg Frey said the postal service is planning to issue new instructions that could allow shipments to resume possibly as soon as Aug. 27.
The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 quietly took effect June 29 and was created to prevent minors from ordering cigarettes through the mail. It allowed for small shipments of tobacco but required a way to verify the recipient was old enough - meaning the only way to ship the packages through the postal service was by Express Mail, which requires a signature.
However, Express Mail doesn't deliver to most overseas military addresses.
"It's a very delicate balancing act to remain in compliance with the law and serve the needs of our customers and in this particular case those brave men and women overseas," Frey said.
The new instructions would allow tobacco shipments to military addresses through Priority Mail, which does ship to deployed troops, with delivery confirmation instead.
U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, the bill's sponsor, said in a statement that he was notified Thursday of the new instructions.
"I'm pleased that the Postal Service responded so quickly to the concerns of our military families and found a way to honor the original intent of the bill: to keep cigarettes out of the hands of children and prevent tobacco smugglers from profiting on the black market," he said.
Kohl recently sent a letter to the Postmaster General asking him to change the regulations, because the bill also expressly permits the shipping of tobacco from adult to adult, including to military addresses.
Following the law's enactment, family members of soldiers were turned away when they tried to send care packages containing tobacco products to combat troops. The law only affects the U.S. Postal Service because UPS and FedEx do not allow consumer-to-consumer shipping of tobacco.
Rep. Anthony Weiner was the primary house member on the act and said the law was intended to stop the black market sales of cigarettes, not stop soldiers from getting smokes.
"We have made it clear that our troops overseas may still get care packages with cigarettes," he said.Comment
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In other breaking news...
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Judge refuses to further delay enforcement of PACT Act
Author: Geoff Nason
Published Date: Aug 12, 2010 4:26 PM
Last Updated: Aug 13, 2010 12:02 AM
Mail-order cigarette sellers from the Seneca Nation and elsewhere were handed another setback Thursday in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara refused to delay the enforcement of a new federal law that prevents businesses from selling cigarettes through the mail.
Seneca Nation businesses oppose the law, saying it will decimate the tribe's lucrative mail-order tobacco industry, which has provided jobs to thousands of Senecas while turning a few into millionaires.
The Seneca businesses are expected to continue their appeal of Arcara's earlier decision upholding the law, but the case now moves up to the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
So far, the Senecas have "failed to establish a clear likelihood" that their appeal will be successful, Arcara wrote Thursday in an eight-page ruling, rejecting their request to delay enforcement pending appeal.
"Preventing [cigarette sellers] from using the mails pending appeal will undoubtedly impact the profitability of their business," Arcara wrote. "Postal delivery clearly represents the most efficient and most cost-effective means for delivery of their products. However ... it is not the only means, and alternative ways to deliver their products do exist."
The judge also refused to grant a motion by the federal government, which wants to force cigarette sellers to proactively pay billions of dollars in state and local taxes for all tobacco sales.
News of the ruling distressed Rick Jemison, chairman of the Seneca Free Trade Association, which represents about 140 tobacco companies owned by members of the Seneca tribe.
"Thousands of people are going to be out of work ... they already are out of work," Jemison, a former member of the Senecas' Tribal Council, said. "This law is just wrong. It's a law promulgated by big tobacco companies and Congress to prevent competition. They're in bed together."
Jemison said he "most certainly" wants to continue the court fight, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if needed. But he said the next legal steps will be determined after he meets with other members of the association.
The ruling relates to the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act, which went into effect in late June. The law, widely known as the PACT Act, bans businesses from selling cigarettes through the mail.
Supporters of the law say its aim is to prevent untaxed cigarette sales and to prevent teenagers from buying cigarettes through the mail. They say the Senecas are by far the largest mass marketers of cheap cigarettes in the United States.
One anti-smoking group, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, estimates that 3.4 million Americans under age 18 are regular smokers. The group alleges that tobacco Web sites, such as those run by the Senecas, make it easy for teens to illegally buy cigarettes.
"[Congress] found that remote sales facilitate illegal trafficking and undermine measures that are used to curb demand for tobacco products," U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. said in court papers.
Seneca Nation smokeshop owners filed a legal challenge to the law in late June.
On July 30, Arcara ruled that the government has the legal right to ban the mailing of cigarettes, but he said the tax collections ordered by the law were not legal.
Seneca business owners claim it is unreasonable and illegal to force them to pay state and local taxes in every town and city where they send cigarettes. Government attorneys disagree.
Tuesday, Seneca business owners asked Arcara to delay the government ban on mail-order cigarette sales until their appeal can be heard.
The Senecas say many of their mail-order smokeshops already have gone out of business because of the new law.
"Businesses have stopped operating, and people have lost jobs," said Lisa A. Coppola, an attorney for a tobacco business owned by Seneca Nation member Aaron Pierce.
She said Pierce is trying to develop methods of delivering cigarettes to customers, without using the U.S. Postal Service.
© The Buffalo NewsComment
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Great to hear and read! Hopefully this sets the stage for a total repeal of the PACT act or at least the shipping restrictions. Just remember that elections are coming up and this subject might be a good one to bring up to your candidates. It’s a shame that it took running the story on the AP for the feds to take any real action. All I can say is come on 2012, let’s vote this current administration out!Comment
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