Ahh......November, Gabz. And the Holidays coming. Ever give a party and no one came? That will be Delaware come the Holidays.
Posted on 08/26/2002 3:14:45 PM PDT by grimalkin
NEW YORK, Aug 26, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Standing behind a chest-high pile of more than 237,000 seized cigarettes, city officials said Monday they had cracked down on stores selling tobacco without a license.
But smoker advocates say black-market sales will only grow in New York, where a tax hike has pushed cigarettes to $7.50 a pack and the mayor is waging a policy war against smoking.
The city seized 11,871 packs - or 237,420 individual cigarettes - from 40 unlicensed sellers between February 2001 and February 2002, said Pansy Mullings, enforcement chief of the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Authorities say they worry unlicensed retailers are dodging cigarette sales taxes and selling tobacco products to minors. To obtain a license, sellers must agree to restrictions on signs and pledge not to sell to minors.
The crackdown is evidence that Mayor Michael Bloomberg is serious in his "campaign against tobacco," said Gretchen Dykstra, the city's commissioner of consumer affairs.
Although the crackdown concluded in February, the announcement Monday came amid Bloomberg's ongoing actions against smoking. He is also seeking to seeking to outlaw smoking in all bars and restaurants.
New York City smokers have been hit this year by a hike in the city's cigarette tax from 8 cents to $1.50. With state and federal taxes, a pack of cigarettes costs up to $7.50 - tops in the nation.
The result is that more smokers are buying cigarettes more cheaply off the Internet, at American Indian reservations and from unlicensed retailers, said Audrey Silk, founder of the smoker-rights group NYC CLASH.
"This is Bloomberg's doing. He set up a lucrative business. They can all thank him," she said Monday.
The city's Department of Finance will auction the seized cigarettes to wholesalers.
The cigarettes typically sell at auction for about $10 a carton, and the pile seized in the crackdown will earn the city nearly $14,000, said Martha Stark, the city finance commissioner.
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On the Net:
New York City Department of Consumer Affairs:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/home.html
NYC CLASH: http://www.nycclash.com
By ERIN McCLAM Associated Press Writer
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
That picture hit me right in the face....
Well, you have it right. There is so much more in this world to worry about and fear, yet the anti's have their teeth sunk so deep into the smoker they can't see straight.
The anti-smokers are like a pack of wild dogs with their fangs deep into the smoker. They have tunnel vision and a one track mind.
Ahh......November, Gabz. And the Holidays coming. Ever give a party and no one came? That will be Delaware come the Holidays.
The brand of tobacco we use is "61" We like it just fine.
Restaurants are already talking about the cancellation of holiday parties that were booked last year.
The folks are moving them to the Moose, Elks, VFW and Fire Halls which are allowed to permit smoking during private functions..
Bars and restaurants in Delaware are not permitted to close to the public for private functions.
Delaware is like Little Vegas. Pity the special interest groups are going to run it into the ground.
Hey, we never hear anything about Atlantic City, NJ. I hear they smoke there and are raking in the money with their slots and casinos. How far are you from Atlantic City?
An hour from the state line at the bridge, if that long.
And the casinos at the West Virginia race tracks are even closer for the folks coming here from Maryland every day.
As an aside - to tell you how good no smoking is for business. I noticed a restaurant today that has been closed. They'd only been open 6 months and were non-smoking. 6 cars was the most I ever saw in their parking lot. The place across the stret which got new owners about the same time still permits smoking. Their parking lot is always full. I drive past both a minimum of once a day, so I know what I'm talking about.
Further proof of the lies of the antis and why they have to have their "level" playing fields. and the sheeple fall for it.
Gee. $14,000. I wonder how much they paid the officers who performed the seizures over that period.
Yes, but once they are all non-smoking, it will even out.
Level playing field = take away all other choices.
Problem is, it doesn't work because a whole lot of smokers just don't go out anymore, and every one of those smokers has family and friends who stay home with them. The only people who believe smoking bans don't hurt business are anti-smokers whose business is smoking bans.
In Nazi Germany, for instance, abstinence from tobacco was a "national socialist duty" (Hitler gave a gold watch to associates who quit the habit, though this didn't stop them lighting up in the Berlin bunker once they heard the Fuhrer had committed suicide).
Exactly, Max. There are only three places left up here where we can go and eat and enjoy a drink, that has a smoking section. If and when those sections are ever removed, our house and yard will really come in handy.
Non-Smokers ask us "why don't you just run outside for a quick cigarette." I say "Why should we spend our money on recreation when we can't enjoy ourselves?" It's our money we are spending when we go out. It's not a MEETING. It's recreation. Nope. We refuse to spend our money for recreation where we cannot relax and smoke.
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