[bobbyT]

Everyone, these shmucks that sat around while wall street robbed us blind, want us to pay even MORE for cigarettes...everyone, seriously, write your senators, this thing passed in the house by a ridiculous margin...smokers are 25% of the US population, and we are not being fairly represented!!!

Weiner Targets Smokes
May 21, 2009
Get your cigarettes by mail? Better load up quick, after the House passed a bill that will make that impossible.
The bill was Rep. Anthony Weiner’s Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act. It bars the U.S. Postal Service from handling any tobacco products, and makes it a felony to break local tax laws.
The bill is aimed at black market smuggling, which costs New York City about $150 million a year (and has earned Hezbollah about $1.5 million).
“This new crack down on the illegal sale of tobacco will close a major source of finances for global terrorists and criminals,” Weiner said. “Every day we delay is another day that New York loses significant amounts of tax revenue and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the Internet.”
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) is sponsoring the measure in the Senate tommorow. Details of the bill are after the jump.
- Michael McAuliff
New York City - The House today passed legislation to give law enforcement new tools to crack down on smugglers of tobacco and curb illicit tobacco sales over the Internet. The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT) of 2008, sponsored by Representative Anthony D. Weiner (D - Brooklyn and Queens), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, passed the House today by a vote of 397 to 11.
The bill makes it a felony for selling tobacco in violation of any state tax law and effectively ends Internet tobacco smuggling by stopping shipments of cigarettes through the United States Postal Service. FedEx, UPS, and DHL have already agreed not to mail tobacco.
By some estimates, New York State loses $1 billion from tobacco smuggling. A study by Rep. Weiner’s office found that New York City may be losing as much as $150 million due to Internet tobacco sites. According to a recent Government Office of Accountability (GAO) report, Hezbollah profited $1.5 million from the sale of illegal tobacco from 1996-2000.
PACT contains the following measures: 1. Strengthens the Jenkins Act: Increases existing penalties from a misdemeanor to a felony, making it a federal offense for any seller making a sale via telephone, the mail, or the internet to fail to comply with all state tax laws. The legislation also empowers each state to enforce the federal law against out-of-state sellers sending delivery sales into its state by giving state Attorneys General the authority to seek injunctive relief and civil penalties against violators. 2. List Enforcement: Empowers the Attorney General to compile a list of delivery sellers who fail to comply with this act or states’ tax laws. 3. Age Verification: Requires internet and other remote sellers to verify the purchaser’s age and identity through easily accessible databases. It also requires the person accepting delivery to verify their age. 4. Tobacco as Non-Mailable Matter: Makes cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products non-mailable matter through USPS, except in limited cases. While FedEx, UPS and DHL have agreed not to ship tobacco products, USPS has continued to deliver tobacco products bought over the Internet. 5. ATF Inspection Authority and Funding: Grants the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives inspection authority for distributors of cigarettes and creates a penalty for those who refuse inspection. Additionally, the legislation would provide the ATF new resources to crack down on tobacco smuggling, including creating a regional tobacco trafficking team in New York City.
Weiner said, “This new crack down on the illegal sale of tobacco will close a major source of finances for global terrorists and criminals. Every day we delay is another day that New York loses significant amounts of tax revenue and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the internet.”
Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said, “We applaud Representative Weiner for working tirelessly to pass the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (H.R. 1676). The PACT Act will help prevent and reduce smoking and other tobacco use by preventing the illegal sale of tax-evading, low-priced cigarettes and smokeless tobacco over the Internet and making sure that Internet and other mail-order sellers do not sell to minors. Indeed, the PACT Act offers Congress a unique opportunity to fight crime, protect federal and state tax revenues, and promote public health, all at the same time.

[cooldude]

Dear smoker friends, we all need to react to this passage of the PACT Act in the house of representatives. These smucks that Bobby T refers to above and especially the dishonorable Anthony Weiner will and have said anything to pass this. It is horrible that this guy is telling other members that Hezzbollah is making money from online tobacco sales and that is a reason for shutting down ALL online smoke shops by making tobacco into non-mailable matter. Maybe it was true before 9/11/2001 but not in todays world. Besides 1.5 million being a small drop in the bucket. What is homeland security for if that can't stop a measley 1.5 million going to a terrorist group? All the rest of us should have to suffer because DHS is just another bunch of beauracrats that can't do their job? This is going to make it easy for foreign online retailers to grow. Their shipments of one carton each will just blend in to the Postal delivery system. At least the Indian shops try to help their own people.

Weiner keeps saying that this stops kids from getting tobacco products even though the shops in question are doing age verification and have been for the last several years. And a lot of shops won't even deliver to New York because of these insane money grubbing tactics.

This is all about money for Democrat politicians in New York City mostly. It takes big bucks for politicians like Weiner to live high on the hog with double six figure salaries. Why can't these government officials have a hiring freeze to save money? They don't really want to save money; they want to spend money. Your money.

This hard line the gov is taking just sabotages their own budget plans by reducing their tax base. The bill puts online tobacco business's out of business in the United States and ends thousands of jobs. Meaning more people going on unemployment and welfare. Do YOU want these few NYC politicians controlling YOUR purchases no matter what state you live in?

This has been "walked across the aisle" and will be considered in the US Senate very soon. The power in the Senate has changed since last year and there are more Left wingers (Democrats) there now. If we all don't contact our state senators and tell them to vote NO on the pact act, we will all be going to the convenience store to buy cigs at even more outrageous prices very soon. Please go to congress dot org and find you state senator and explain your position in an email. If you go to the "Roll Call" section, you can post it online. Please everyone ask you state senators to vote NO on the PACT Act. Please do it as soon as you can. Do it today. We may stop this thing for another year or two if our state senators get a negative response from the smoking public.