Tobacco Articles: category internet

Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco Applauds Senate Judiciary Committee for Passage of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act of 2009: Urges immediate passage by the full Senate

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco today applauded the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for its passage of S. 1147, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act of 2009. The PACT Act will close the gaps in current federal law and will help combat the illegal sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products. "We are gratified by the Senate Judiciary Committee's vote today approving S. 1147, the PACT Act," said Scott Ramminger, president of the American Wholesale Marketers Association, a member of the coalition. "The overwhelming bipartisan vote in the House, the diverse groups supporting this legislation and now the Senate Judiciary Committee's action speak clearly of the need for this important legislation." Internet and other "remote" sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products have significant adverse consequences by undercutting state laws that prevent youth access to tobacco. Additionally these sales circumvent applicable state taxes and states lose substantial tax revenues.

Findlay High School posts video on the web to combat smoking

tlewis@wtol.com (Tanieya Lewis) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Facebook and YouTube are popular websites among teens. But now, schools are logging onto their very own space on the internet to stop smoking on school premises. "I'm glad I'm a smoker," a student said on camera. Smokers across the street from Findlay High School were captured on camera speaking candidly by Carrie Lambers, a communications student on a mission to cleanup the corner. "It was an eyesore to the high school," Lambers said. "So my goal was to show students to do it as a public service announcement, to show that there are teenagers smoking, and I believe that it needs to stop." The students tackle tough subjects often avoided by schools. But their advisor, Jim McGonnell, says the kids have full support from the school district to speak freely.

S. 1147: Text of Legislation, Introduced in Senate

Thu, 21 May 2009 04:00:00 GMT

• This version: Introduced in Senate. This is the original text of the bill as it was written by its sponsor and submitted to the Senate for consideration. This is the latest version of the bill available on this website. . . . • (a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the ‘Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009’ or ‘PACT Act’. • (b) Findings- Congress finds that-- • (1) the sale of illegal cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products significantly reduces Federal, State, and local government revenues, with Internet sales alone accounting for billions of dollars of lost Federal, State, and local tobacco tax revenue each year; • (2) Hezbollah, Hamas, al Qaeda, and other terrorist organizations have profited from trafficking in illegal cigarettes or counterfeit cigarette tax stamps; • (3) terrorist involvement in illicit cigarette trafficking will continue to grow because of the large profits such organizations can earn; • (4) the sale of illegal cigarettes and smokeless tobacco over the Internet, and through mail, fax, or phone orders, makes it cheaper and easier for children to obtain tobacco products; • (5) the majority of Internet and other remote sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco are being made without adequate precautions to protect against sales to children, without the payment of applicable taxes, and without complying with the nominal registration and reporting requirements in existing Federal law; • (6) unfair competition from illegal sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco is taking billions of dollars of sales away from law-abiding retailers throughout the United States; • (7) with rising State and local tobacco tax rates, the incentives for the illegal sale of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco have increased; • (8) the number of active tobacco investigations being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives rose to 452 in 2005; • (9) the number of Internet vendors in the United States and in foreign countries that sell cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to buyers in the United States increased from only about 40 in 2000 to more than 500 in 2005; and • (10) the intrastate sale of illegal cigarettes and smokeless tobacco over the Internet has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. • (c) Purposes- It is the purpose of this Act to-- • (1) require Internet and other remote sellers of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to comply with the same laws that apply to law-abiding tobacco retailers;

S. 1147 - Summary: PACT Act: Congressional Research Service Summary

Thu, 21 May 2009 04:00:00 GMT

5/21/2009--Introduced. Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 or PACT Act - Amends the Jenkins Act to: (1) include smokeless tobacco as a regulated substance; (2) impose shipping and recordkeeping requirements on delivery sellers (sellers using the telephone, mails, or the Internet) of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco; (3) require common carriers of cigarette products to obtain age and identity verification upon delivery of such products; (4) require the Attorney General to compile and publish a list of delivery sellers of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco who have not complied with the registration or other requirements of such Act; (5) increase criminal penalties and impose new civil penalties for violations of this Act; and (6) grant jurisdiction to U.S. district courts to prevent and restrain violations of this Act and direct the Attorney General to administer and enforce this Act. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) treat cigarettes and smokeless tobacco as nonmailable and prohibit such items from being deposited in or carried through the U.S. mails (with specified exceptions, including for mailings for consumer testing); and (2) authorize officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to enter the premises of certain cigarette shippers to inspect records and inventories. Prohibits a tobacco product manufacturer or importer from selling or delivering in states cigarettes not in compliance with model or qualifying state statutes. Limits the applicability of this Act with respect to Indian tribes and certain tribal matters. Directs the ATF Director to create regional contraband tobacco trafficking teams and a Tobacco Intelligence Center to monitor and coordinate tobacco diversion investigations. Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to the precedential effect of this Act.

S. 1147: PACT Act

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

This is a bill in the U.S. Congress originating in the Senate ("S."). A bill must be passed by both the Senate and House and then be signed by the President before it becomes law. Bill numbers restart from 1 every two years. Each two-year cycle is called a session of Congress. This bill was created in the 111th Congress, in 2009-2010. The titles of bills are written by the bill's sponsor and are a part of the legislation itself. GovTrack does not editorialize bill summaries. . . . Sponsor: Sen. Herbert Kohl [D-WI]show cosponsors (13) Cosponsors: Robert Casey [D-PA] Richard Durbin [D-IL] Dianne Feinstein [D-CA] Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY] Thomas Harkin [D-IA] John Kerry [D-MA] Amy Klobuchar [D-MN] Patrick Leahy [D-VT] Mark Pryor [D-AR] Charles Schumer [D-NY] Arlen Specter [D-PA] Mark Warner [D-VA] Jim Webb [D-VA] . . . Last Action: Nov 19, 2009: Committee on the Judiciary. Date of scheduled consideration. SD-226. 10:00 a.m.

PACT Act Q&A

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

As tobacco product excise taxes increase, so do the prices of tobacco products. Criminal organizations exploit these increases by selling contraband or counterfeit tobacco products for their own financial gain and without regard to youth access prevention laws. This illicit activity deprives governments of tax revenue and hurts law-abiding businesses. Law enforcement groups, trade associations, health care advocates and the states have been advocating for the passage of legislation to combat illegal Internet sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco a number of years. The Senate is currently considering S.1147 – the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (“PACT Act”), which would impose new restrictions on Internet cigarette and smokeless tobacco sales. This legislation will help States recover revenues at a time when they need it most, ensure appropriate age verification, and restore a level competitive environment for the law-abiding wholesalers and retailers throughout the United States who pay their taxes and play by the rules. The PACT Act is an important step in addressing the larger issue of stopping the trade of contraband tobacco. The PACT Act is strongly supported by a broad array of advocates. Earlier this year, the House passed the PACT Act by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 397 to 11. Since 2002, both houses have passed the PACT Act on multiple occasions. Opposition to the PACT Act arises mainly from a few owners and operators of cigarette Internet sites – the sites that engage in the very activity that has robbed states of hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes and that has taken enormous business from legitimate retailers and wholesalers. Congress should reject these arguments, and do so based on a clear and accurate understanding of what the PACT Act will do for the states, for retailers and wholesalers, for law enforcement, and for the broad array of other stakeholders who strongly support it. Below are a series of questions and answers intended to clarify why the PACT Act should be enacted. [Top]

Internet Cigarette Sales--an Illegal Rip-off of Our Nation / It's Time for the Feds to Act! (PDF): AN AMWA RESEARCH FOLLOW-UP STUDY

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

• Intent on determining whether progress has been made in curbing the illegal Internet sale of tobacco products, an American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA) researcher selected 27 Internet sites at random and purchased 22 cartons of cigarettes using a Visa card and a prepaid Visa card. Of the 27 random sites selected using the Internet search engine Google, 74% allowed the use of a credit card—Visa, Diners Club, MasterCard, and/or American Express. • None of the cigarettes purchased carried U.S. state tax stamps, and in no case were taxes collected at the time of purchase. • The American Wholesale Marketers Association will notify proper state authorities of the purchases and pay the appropriate amount of tax to comply with the law. • Age verification was virtually nonexistent. Most sites simply had a statement on the home page, or hidden in a disclaimer or under Frequently Asked Questions, stating that a purchaser must be a certain age to buy cigarettes. Some asked for a simple check-off that the buyer was over 18. • This study clearly demonstrates that efforts to restrict illegal cigarette sales via the Internet are ineffective, that billions of dollars in taxes are going uncollected, and that legitimate sellers of tobacco products in the U.S. face unfair competition from unscrupulous online purveyors who are scoffing at U.S. laws and tax requirements.

Organizations Call on U.S. Senate to Pass Legislation Preventing Tax-Evading: Groups highlight the need for the Senate to immediately pass S. 1147

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Representatives of law enforcement groups, public health organizations and trade associations today gathered on Capitol Hill to urge the Senate to pass S. 1147, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 (PACT Act). This legislation will help combat online cigarette sales that have robbed hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues from the states and that undermine state laws that prevent youth access to tobacco products. This bill closes gaps in current federal laws regulating "remote" or "delivery" sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. These organizations were joined by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), advocates of combating illegal cigarette sales. Numerous stakeholders have worked with Sen. Kohl through the years to pass the PACT Act, which was passed in the House of Representatives this May. "The PACT Act will strengthen our tobacco laws to ensure that law enforcement has the tools they need to investigate and prosecute cigarette traffickers, said Sen. Kohl. "Each day we delay its passage, terrorists and criminals raise more money, states lose significant amounts of tax revenue, and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the internet." "We must crack down on the illegal sale of tobacco, which gives terrorists and criminals the ability to raise more money," said Rep. Weiner. " . . . Organizations represented at the press conference included the National Association of Convenience Stores, American Wholesale Marketers Association, National Black Police Association Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and American Legislative Exchange Council.

dot.life: The anonymous bullies

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

You don't have to roam far online to find examples of rudeness, aggression and downright bullying. I had a quick scan of the politics blogs - left and right - this morning and these were just a few of the comments I found: "He should be hung drawn and quartered, as slowly as is possible to maximise his suffering." "This EVIL person deserves no pity. He is accomplished in one thing only. Utter Cowardice." "The rest of Parliament should be shot, not hung." But it's not just politics that is discussed online with this level of vituperation. Almost any area of life - from religion, to the environment to literature - seems capable of attracting those, who when sat in front of a computer, will tap out messages of hate that they would never be likely to express face-to-face with their opponents. And what do nearly all of these angry people have in common? They are anonymous, leaving just a nom de guerre scattered across various blogs and message boards. . . .

I have had this myself. On an old, now abandoned, blog I criticised those who were against the smoking ban. Within hours I had personal attacks from people - not questioning me on what I wrote, but threatening me, insulting what they thought I might look like, saying they knew where I lived and they would "come and get me" and so on.

Letter _Web version__ Stop Internet sales of tobacco products

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Illegal sales of tobacco products are costing our nation and states billions in lost revenue. Increases in federal and state government excise taxes have created an explosion of illegal tobacco product sales over the Internet, and such purchases are evading federal, state and local taxes. How is this happening? Remote sellers typically sell untaxed or low-taxed cigarettes over the Internet or by mail or telephone to consumers without paying the taxes owed to the states. Indiana is losing significant tax revenue because of this illegal practice, and consumers are often unaware that they are personally liable for any applicable unpaid taxes. Fortunately, there is a potential solution in the Senate known as the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009. This legislation closes a number of gaps in federal law regulating "remote" or "delivery" sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products and prevents anyone underage from obtaining tobacco products remotely. In 2000 there were only about 40 domestic Internet sellers of cigarettes, but by 2006 there were more than 770 Web sites selling cigarettes to U.S. smokers, and nearly half of these sites were based outside the United States. . . .' I encourage our U.S. senators, Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, to support and co-sponsor the Pact Act of 2009 because it is an important opportunity to further protect the legitimate channels of distribution for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in Indiana.

Twitter Brings Massive Traffic to Popular E Cigarette Company: Twitter has been making headlines for a while now, but is it helping to spread the buzz on a controversial product?

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Many companies are aggressively marketing their sites through the Twitter medium while some companies seem to be benefiting from the service with no effort at all. There are a few sites and products on the internet that do not need some glam or slick marketing schemes to make use of Twitter. Just being what they are can create all of the buzz that is needed for a steady supply of visitors and consumers eager to get in on the craze. E Cigarettes National, a company that sells e-cigarettes out of Florida, has claimed that they are seeing a tremendous increase in traffic from the popular site. "At first, we thought it was just loyal clients telling neighbors, family, and friends about us," states Tiffany Ellis of E Cigarettes National. "But after further investigation, we came to the conclusion that it was people on Twitter spreading the word about our main site, our blog and press releases that we had put out in the past."

Electronic Cigarette Review Website Now Has Free E-Cigarette Trial Offers for Holiday Shoppers

nextwavellc@gmail.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

ElectronicCigarettesReviews.net is an e-cigarette website that reviews various brands of electronic cigarettes. With the start of the Holiday gift shopping season, this website has seen a huge increase in traffic from consumers that want to purchase e-cigarettes as Holiday gifts for someone that is trying to quit smoking. This website is now offering a free trial on two brands of e-cigarettes and Holiday shoppers are quickly snatching up these free e-cigarette trials.

Industry dodges ad bans by pushing smokes online

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The tobacco industry is using social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to promote its products and persuade people to become smokers, a study revealed yesterday. "The ban on advertising does not mean the tobacco industry has stopped advertising its products," said Becky Freeman of Australia's University of Sydney, who conducted the study. She presented her findings in Bangkok at a threeday regional training workshop held by Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA). Freeman said most tobacco companies were interested in viral marketing (using preexisting social networks to increase brand recognition) to persuade or influence audiences to pass products on to others. A million people had visited video clips on YouTube reviewing cigarettes, she said, and thousands more had become fans of the products on Facebook. "The Internet has made it easier to engage consumers by allowing them to contribute directly to marketing campaigns and brand development," she said. The use of social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, podcasts and RSS would be one of the main topics up for discussion at Tabinfo Asia 2009 . . . Another marketing device was the use of product and pack designs - such as colourful and glowinthe dark packs - to entice specific groups. "For example, we found cigarette packs designed like lipsticks or wallets - a new way to lure more and more women to become smokers," she said. . . . A group of 650 people, including teenagers, led by Action on Smoking and its alliances, will today demonstrate against the Tabinfo Asia 2009 at Impact Arena. "This is a nightmare for our people," SEATCA's director Bungon Ritthiphakdee said

National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation Promotes Program with Ads, PSAs and Web Resources

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

With the latest research estimating that nearly six million people worldwide will lose their lives to tobacco next year(1), an innovative approach is critical to helping the 43 million Americans who smoke to finally quit. This month, which is observed as Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the national quit smoking program, EX(R) will debut the second phase of advertising and promotions designed to help smokers "re-learn" life without cigarettes. The campaign will begin airing this month on radio and cable television networks as well as online, in print and through ambient/out-of-home channels. EX is a national quit smoking campaign, sponsored by the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation (NATC), a two-year old collaborative of state and national public health groups spearheaded by Legacy(SM), creators of the award-winning truth(R) youth smoking prevention campaign. . . . Most smokers in America - 70 percent - want to quit, but in 2000, only about five percent of smokers were successful in quitting long-term. Quitting smoking is ultimately one of the single most important lifestyle changes one can make to improve and extend their lives. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States; smokers therefore need to be armed with all the available information to make the best, most informed choices about the smoking cessation medications and resources available to them.

2,000-Year-Old Scrolls, Internet-Era Crime: About New York - Raphael Golb's Aliases Enlivened Debate Over Dead Sea Scrolls

larry.schiffman@gmail.com (JIM DWYER ) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Mr. Golb is, or was, a guerrilla fighter in a cyberbrawl over the Dead Sea Scrolls, a war about the origins of 2,000-year-old documents that has consumed the energy of academics around the globe. He was being arrested for fighting dirty. Mr. Golb is 49 years old and had 50 e-mail aliases. He used pseudonyms to post on blogs. Under the name of a professor he was trying to undermine, prosecutors charged, Mr. Golb wrote a quasi confession to plagiarism and circulated it among students and officials at New York University. His purpose, the Manhattan district attorney's office said, was "to influence and affect debate on the Dead Sea Scrolls, and in order to harass Dead Sea Scrolls scholars who disagree with his viewpoint." In the classic 1993 New Yorker cartoon by Peter Steiner, two dogs are perched in front of a computer screen. "On the Internet," one says to the other, "nobody knows you're a dog."