Tobacco.org

• Philip Morris USA Sues New York and New Jersey Retailers Selling Counterfeit Cigarettes 

Philip Morris USA (PM USA) filed lawsuits today against eight retailers for selling counterfeit versions of the company's Marlboro® brand cigarettes in New York and New Jersey. These lawsuits are part of the company's on-going efforts to stop the sale of counterfeit cigarettes and the unauthorized use of PM USA's trademarks.

"These lawsuits highlight that counterfeit cigarette traffickers continue to operate in the New York metropolitan area," said Joe Murillo, vice president and associate general counsel, Altria Client Services, speaking on behalf of PM USA. "This illegal activity hurts legitimate wholesale and retail businesses and for a number of reasons, including high cigarette excise taxes and New York State's lack of effective cigarette excise tax enforcement, the New York metropolitan area is particularly vulnerable to this activity," said Murillo. . . .

PM USA continues to advocate for comprehensive solutions to New York's complex counterfeit and contraband cigarette issues, including enactment of a law that would impose a deadline on the Department of Tax and Finance to begin tax collection on cigarettes sold to non-tribal members through Native American reservation outlets.

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