US moves to block cigarette sales over the Internet
Found on The Inquirer on Friday, 18 March 2005
The card companies joined forces with scary-sounding U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to block the sales of cigarettes over state lines.
A spokesman for the AFT claimed its investigations showed, "that millions of dollars each year in illegal sales of cigarettes are diverted to fund terrorists and criminal organizations."
In some states – such as New York - the sale of tobacco products over the Internet is banned. The ATF claims that many New Yorkers buy their fags from other states in order to get around the ban - depriving the state of an estimated $100 million a year in cigarette sales taxes.
You can slap that "funding terrorism" sticker on almost everything if you want. Here comes an even better idea: ban tabacco completely. No smokers (active and passive), more healthy people, less cancer, less accidents (falling asleep with a cig) and so on. The way I see it, there would be only positive results. Oh wait, of course, there won't be making any more money from it. What a shame. There were recently rumors that the tabacco industry adds menthol, sugar and chocolate flavors to make smoking easier and more attractive for children...