Friday, November 27, 2009

Put That in Your Pipe!


At a time when tobacco regulations and taxation are claiming to be doing it for the children, to prevent access and keep them from tobacco, it begs the question, has anyone bothered asking 'the children' why they started smoking or where they buy their tobacco?  It is against the law in the first place to provide minors with tobacco and most legitimate businesses abide by that. In an effort to punish those that don't follow the law more laws are enacted that end up harming those that play by the rules the most.

 
I can only speak for myself. I never took up the cigarette habit. Both my parents smoked at home and in the car with the windows up - the 70's and 80s, what great times. :)  I was into sports and didn't like the way cigarette smoke smelled. When I was 25, out the blue I decide to buy a cigar because I liked the way they smelled and loved it. Over the years I smoked cigars occasionally but not enough to call myself a smoker. Fast forward to 2009. I am recently married with one daughter and a son on the way. It is getting more difficult to find time to sit down to smoke a cigar and the smell afterword was not a favorite thing for my wife. Hey, why not try a pipe. I did. I found it relaxing, and the smell actually didn't bother my wife when I came back in from my man cave.



Believe it or not I do have a point to this story. It was about this time I came across an article written by Rick Newcombe, "Put That in Your Pipe: As an act of rebellion against political correctness, pipe smoking is hard to beat." A passion for the briar and pipe tobacco was born! I don't always have time to sit down and enjoy a full pipe bowl, but the idea of what pipe smoking represents is with me always. It is different for everyone. As pipe and cigar smokers know, it isn't an addiction, its is a way of thought and a certain old school attitude toward life. Enough of my ramblings, Mr. Newcombe explains it far better than I could. Enjoy!


Here is another great article about adult college students discovering the pipe - note that high cigarette taxes made some check pipe smoking out and a pleasant experience kept them interested.  There weren't any predatory tobacco execs or advertisers pushing them into it.  Isn't FREE WILL a grand thing! 

The Latest Thing They're Smoking in Pipes on College Campuses: Tobacco



Roll-Your Own vs. Pipe Tobacco


After the SCHIP Tax was passed back in April 2009, RYO taxes jumped 2000%, resulting in RYO manufacturers rebranding their product as pipe tobacco. Some officials were shocked by this and the usual suspects blamed the tobacco execs for finding this 'loophole'. Some senators jumped on this and threatend these manufacturers to stop this practice or they would.

Let me get this straight. The mega cigarette giants supported this tax and somehow there are these evil RYO tobacco 'execs' to blame for this so-called tax evasion. This is a matter of a legal industry trying to stay alive after an attempt to be taxed out of existence. Most of these RYO manufacturers are small businesses, especially when compared to the big boys on the block. Government has an unending hunger for your tax dollars and RYO was cutting into the big cigarette companies profit margins and in turn 'denying' both local and federal government more of your money.

I'll admit, at first I was not happy that the RYO companies had put pipe tobacco in the crosshairs. But that would be hypocritical. Now the fight is on to provide a better definition of what pipe tobacco is and what RYO is. Currently the IRS tax code provides these definitions:

TITLE 26 - INTERNAL REVENUE CODE
Sec. 5702. Definitions

(n) Pipe tobacco: The term ''pipe tobacco'' means any tobacco which, because of its appearance, type, packaging, or labeling, is suitable for use and likely to be offered to, or purchased by, consumers as tobacco to be smoked in a pipe.

(o) Roll-your-own tobacco: The term ''roll-your-own tobacco'' means any tobacco which, because of its appearance, type, packaging, or labeling, is suitable for use and likely to be offered to, or purchased by, consumers as tobacco for making cigarettes.

In a normal world with fair taxation this would suffice, but in a world where tax dollar hunger is bottomless, these definitions will be expanded by pages.

Every pipe smoker knows that when you put RYO tobacco - or tobacco that is cut to be smoked in a cigarette - into a pipe it will not taste very good and burn hot, burning your tongue in the process.  Try and put pipe tobacco in cigarette form and it'll be too moist and not taste like a cigarette.  Problem is that members of congress have no clue about this unless they are pipe smokers.  Would the pipe smokers in congress please stand up and provide some sanity before the pipe tobacco tax is raised by 2000% and destroys yet more small businesses.

Cigars have been taxed as well but are exempt from the PACT ACT.  Why?  If the government is going after all forms of tobacco, why not cigars?  You can take a cigar, cut it up and put in a pipe and maybe even roll the tobacco into a cigarette as well.  The answer is simple...they are exempt FOR NOW.  Is it any wonder that tobacco tax revenues are continuing to drop?  Watch out grow-your own industry, you will be in the crosshairs as well.

The irony in all this is as tobacco is slowly making its way toward full prohibition, marijuana is moving toward legalization. 

Now imagine a future where you can go to jail for growing your own tobacco and your neighbor could be watching you hauled away while he puffs on his joint and all the authorities do is wave hello to him.  Some crazy stuff. 

Related articles:

Tobacco execs quickly find tax loophole
Tobacco Retailers Challenge News Reports on Roll-Your-Own, Pipe Tobaccos
Beware the Adverse Effects of Cigarette Taxes on Kids

Thursday, November 26, 2009

PACT ACT or SPY ACT?


The text below is taken from the PACT ACT that just cleared the Judiciary Committee on November 19, 2009. Now it moves on for debate.

The US is fighting terrorism and spending billions. Let’s go ahead and add $34 million over the next four years to spy on American citizen's tobacco purchases while we are at it.

Sen. Hatch [R-UT],Sen. Sessions [R-AL], and Sen. Cornyn [R-TX] are new co-sponsors to this bill with the remaining 13 co-sponsors democrats. 

Its intent is to fight illegal cigarette and smokeless tobacco trafficking and terrorism that is being funded through sales of contraband cigarettes. And of course, it is also to 'save' the children.  Never mind that high taxes have created the black markets in the first place and will continue to do so.

In full disclosure, I am not or ever have been a cigarette smoker. I am an occasional cigar and pipe smoker. As such, I have an interest in the matter of tobacco taxation.  It seems such a basic freedom to purchase and consume a legal product.  I believe this excellent article from Pipe Tobacco magazine explains it better than I could. "Prohibition by increments" reviews "Velvet Glove, Iron Fist" by Stephen A. Ross.

 PROHIBITION BY INCREMENTS

This links to the entire bill:

SECTION. 7. ENHANCED CONTRABAND TOBACCO ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Requirements- The Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives shall--

(1) not later than the end of the 3-year period beginning on the effective date of this Act, create a regional contraband tobacco trafficking team in each of New York, New York, the District of Columbia, Detroit, Michigan, Los Angeles, California, Seattle, Washington, and Miami, Florida;

(2) create a Tobacco Intelligence Center to oversee investigations and monitor and coordinate ongoing investigations and to serve as the coordinator for all ongoing tobacco diversion investigations within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, in the United States and, where applicable, with law enforcement organizations around the world;

(3) establish a covert national warehouse for undercover operations; and

(4) create a computer database that will track and analyze information from retail sellers of tobacco products that sell through the Internet or by mail order or make other non-face-to-face sales.

(b) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (a) $8,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014.