Philip Morris to Stop Supplying Dealers

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20060127/D8FD09H80.html

Jan 27, 6:32 AM (ET)

By MICHAEL GORMLEY

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Philip Morris USA will stop supplying cigarettes to illegal Internet and mail order dealers as part of an agreement with attorneys general for 37 states and territories, New York officials said Thursday.

The nation's biggest tobacco company voluntarily agreed to end shipments of any of its products to customers, Indian tribes and enterprises that the states deem illegal, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said.

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The attorneys general involved represent Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Also involved are American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas.

<snip>

A New York Health Department study in November found that more than a third of New York smokers regularly avoid the state's high cigarette taxes by buying from Indian reservations, the Internet or duty-free shops.

Indian reservations, which as sovereign nations do not collect state tax, were the preferred source of cigarettes for 22 percent of smokers.

*************much more at article********
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20060127/D8FD09H80.html

Do they mean that ALL dealers who sell via the net are illegal JUST because people are avoiding NY taxes?

I've been buying my cigarettes via the net from an Indian reservation store for several years. They are not a Phillip Morris product and I don't live in NY.

I'm geting tired of all this BS against smokers!

They say it will crack down on Internet sales to minors...
I think it's just a way for Philip Morris to boost its sales and for states to boost their taxes.

The attorneys general consider all Internet cigarette sales to be illegal because they violate one or more state or federal laws aimed at stopping sales to underage smokers and collecting sales taxes. They said many of the sales through foreign Web sites also violate federal smuggling, cigarette labeling, money laundering and contraband laws.

It also says in the article that they're worked out a deal with UPS & DHL to stop shipping cigarettes completely. I know this is true. I was notified by the place where I buy mine that they would have to ship via USPS, and I must pay via a draft from my checking account because the cr card companies have stopped processing this type of transaction.

I have no problem trying to stop minors from buying cigarettes, but I'm 62! Force me to provide PROOF of my age, make me sign for the damn delivery, but stopping all commerce on cigarettes is wrong!

According to the story, an illegal dealer avoids the state and local taxes and doesn't regulate the sale of cigarettes to minors. Apparently quite a number of internet outlets for cigarettes do both of these things, which are against the public interest as defined over and over again through various state legislatures (33 states are mentioned in the article, along with DC and three U.S. territories).

This seems to be a legitimate law enforcement action by a coalition of various attorneys general who are protecting the rights of their sovereign states to collect taxes and keep cigarettes away from minors. Go to the corner grocery store and buy your cigarettes legally, or quit giving your money to the goddam tobacco companies. This has nothing to do with "BS against smokers."

that is extremely addictive (has a very inelastic demand curve, as economists say).

Personally, I believe making cigarettes more expensive is a good idea, if it keeps children from beginning to smoke (most smokers start smoking in their early to mid teens, and I understand it is more addictive later in life the earlier you start). There is evidence that making cigarettes more expensive has helped reduce juvenile smoking. I also think higher taxes on cigarettes are good if the revenue is used on smoking prevention and cessation programs. Certain states like California were doing that, running effective public service spots against smoking. The percentage of teens smoking dropped substantially due to these efforts. Unfortunately the tobacco lobby had their hooks in the state legislature, and funding for these programs was cut.

All of this is necessary, in my opinion, because of the serious health impact of cigarettes: according to the CDC, the average smoker loses 14 years of his or her life.

Being in favor of paying lawful taxes isn't being against smokers, so stop saying that.

The law actually says that a business must charge state sales tax IF they have nexus in that State.

I also buy products from Amazon, Ebay, and lots of other sites. NONE of them charge sales tax! Companies like Sears, Penneys, Kmart etc must charge you state sales tax because they have physical locations in your atate.

This is definately singeling out one type of business.

pay tax on that.

A few years ago a friend who was 19 wanted me to order some smokes online for him because the website only accepted orders from people who were at least 21, I refused because I read the fine print on the website saying that the customer is responsible to report it to the proper taxation authorities.