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by violetfae
on Wed Jun 10, 2009 1:40 pm |
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Seems I was mistaken about buying from reservations.
Here is a copy/paste. I thought I should share it here at smokinglobby:
*** URGENT ACTION NEEDED ***
THE SITUATION: Right now there is legislation pending in the United States Senate - the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 ("PACT Act") (S.1147) which contains, among other bad ideas, a provision to make ALL cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products nonmailable.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU: By making all cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products nonmailable, the Senate is ensuring you will no longer be able to purchase these products by mail-order, telephone order, and/or the Internet because the United States Postal Service will be prohibited from delivering your orders to you. Taking away your options means forcing you back to buying over-priced tobacco products from your local retailer once again.
THEY'VE TRIED THIS BEFORE: The PACT Act is not new. Different versions of the PACT Act were introduced in 2003, 2006 and 2007. No prior version became a law. We've defeated the PACT Act before and with your help we can defeat it again.
WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP: Native American cigarette and tobacco sellers are committed to doing everything we can to stop the PACT Act but we need your help. Your Senators work for you and as their constituents, it is your voice and your vote that counts!
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Contact your Senators and tell them not to pass the PACT Act. Your Senators should be protecting your interests, but it is up to you to let them know what you think about the PACT Act. There are three easy ways to contact your Senators - by telephone, email, or regular mail - all of which are explained below. Every state has two Senators - please remember to contact BOTH Senators for your state. At this point time is a big factor, so a phone call is by far the best means to use.
YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXPRESS YOUR OPINION: As an American Citizen, it is your right to let your Senators know how you feel about any action Congress takes. You elected your Senators to represent you and they can only do this if you tell them what you want. When you contact your Senator you do not need to identify yourself as a smoker or as someone who purchases cigarettes and/or smokeless tobacco products by mail-order, telephone-order, and/or the Internet. You only need to identify yourself as a resident of the state they represent.
SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE PACT ACT TO DISCUSS WITH YOUR SENATORS:
THE POSTAL SERVICE: The price of stamps is being raised practically every year. The PACT Act will take an entire class of legal, non-hazardous goods and make them nonmailable. What this means is a huge loss of business (potentially hundreds of millions of dollars) for the Postal Service. Will they continue to raise the price of stamps and other mail services to compensate for their lost income? The United States Postal Service is already suffering a fiscal crisis due to the downturn in the economy. If the PACT Act is passed and millions of dollars of revenue are taken away, there could be serious consequences for consumers, including reducing the number of delivery days from 6 per week down to 5 or perhaps only 4 days per week.
COST: When the PACT Act of 2003 (S.1177) passed the Senate, the Congressional Budget Office prepared a Cost Estimate for the Bill. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the PACT Act of 2003 would cost about $140 MILLION over the 2004-2008 period to enforce. $140 Million over four years - and that estimate is already six years old. How much will the PACT Act of 2009 cost to enforce? Isn't there a better way to spend our tax dollars?
TWO IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR SENATORS:
1. Tell your Senators that you are one of their constituents and provide an address so they know where in the state you are from. Since anyone can contact a Senator, it is important that you let your Senators know that you live and vote in their home state. Because the Senators receive so much mail, mail from their constituents always takes priority.
2. Make it clear to your Senators that you DO NOT want them to pass the PACT Act of 2009 (S.1147). Let your Senators know that if they don't support you - you won't support them.
CONTACT YOUR UNITED STATES SENATORS
State Senator Phone Website
Alaska Lisa Murkowski 202-224-6665 http://murkowski.senate.gov/
Alaska Mark Begich 202-224-3004 http://begich.senate.gov
Alabama Richard Shelby 202-224-5744 http://shelby.senate.gov/
Alabama Jeff Sessions 202-224-4124 http://sessions.senate.gov/
Arkansas Blanche Lincoln 202-224-4843 http://lincoln.senate.gov/
Arkansas Mark Pryor 202-224-2353 http://pryor.senate.gov/
Arizona John McCain 202-224-2235 http://mccain.senate.gov/
Arizona Jon Kyl 202-224-4521 http://kyl.senate.gov/
California Dianne Feinstein 202-224-3841 http://feinstein.senate.gov/
California Barbara Boxer 202-224-3553 http://boxer.senate.gov/
Colorado Mark Udall 202-224-5941 http://markudall.senate.gov
Colorado Michael Bennet 202-224-5852 http://bennet.senate.gov/
Connecticut Christopher Dodd 202-224-2823 http://dodd.senate.gov/
Connecticut Joseph Lieberman 202-224-4041 http://lieberman.senate.gov/
Delaware Thomas Carper 202-224-2441 http://carper.senate.gov/
Delaware Ted Kaufman 202-224-5042 http://kaufman.senate.gov/
Florida Bill Nelson 202-224-5274 http://billnelson.senate.gov/
Florida Mel Martinez 202-224-3041 http://martinez.senate.gov/
Georgia Saxby Chambliss 202-224-3521 http://chambliss.senate.gov/
Georgia Johnny Isakson 202-224-3643 http://isakson.senate.gov/
Hawaii Daniel Inouye 202-224-3934 http://inouye.senate.gov/
Hawaii Daniel Akaka 202-224-6361 http://akaka.senate.gov/
Iowa Charles Grassley 202-224-3744 http://grassley.senate.gov/
Iowa Tom Harkin 202-224-3254 http://harkin.senate.gov/
Idaho Mike Crapo 202-224-6142 http://crapo.senate.gov/
Idaho Jim Risch 202-224-2752 http://risch.senate.gov/
Illinois Richard Durbin 202-224-2152 http://durbin.senate.gov/
Illinois Roland Burris 202-224-2854 http://burris.senate.gov/
Indiana Richard Lugar 202-224-4814 http://lugar.senate.gov/
Indiana Evan Bayh 202-224-5623 http://bayh.senate.gov/
Kansas Sam Brownback 202-224-6521 http://brownback.senate.gov/
Kansas Pat Roberts 202-224-4774 http://roberts.senate.gov/
Kentucky Mitch McConnell 202-224-2541 http://mcconnell.senate.gov/
Kentucky Jim Bunning 202-224-4343 http://bunning.senate.gov/
Louisiana Mary Landrieu 202-224-5824 http://landrieu.senate.gov/
Louisiana David Vitter 202-224-4623 http://vitter.senate.gov/
Massachusetts Edward Kennedy 202-224-4543 http://kennedy.senate.gov/
Massachusetts John Kerry 202-224-2742 http://kerry.senate.gov/
Maryland Barbara Mikulski 202-224-4654 http://mikulski.senate.gov/
Maryland Benjamin Cardin 202-224-4524 http://cardin.senate.gov/
Maine Olympia Snowe 202-224-5344 http://snowe.senate.gov/
Maine Susan Collins 202-224-2523 http://collins.senate.gov/
Michigan Carl Levin 202-224-6221 http://levin.senate.gov/
Michigan Debbie Stabenow 202-224-4822 http://stabenow.senate.gov/
Minnesota Amy Klobuchar 202-224-3244 http://klobuchar.senate.gov/
Missouri Kit Bond 202-224-5721 http://bond.senate.gov/
Missouri Claire McCaskill 202-224-6154 http://mccaskill.senate.gov/
Mississippi Thad Cochran 202-224-5054 http://cochran.senate.gov/
Mississippi Roger Wicker 202-224-6253 http://wicker.senate.gov/
Montana Max Baucus 202-224-2651 http://baucus.senate.gov/
Montana Jon Tester 202-224-2644 http://tester.senate.gov/
North Carolina Richard Burr 202-224-3154 http://burr.senate.gov/
North Carolina Kay Hagan 202-224-6342 http://hagan.senate.gov/
North Dakota Kent Conrad 202-224-2043 http://conrad.senate.gov/
North Dakota Byron Dorgan 202-224-2551 http://dorgan.senate.gov/
Nebraska Ben Nelson 202-224-6551 http://bennelson.senate.gov/
Nebraska Mike Johanns 202-224-4224 http://johanns.senate.gov/
New Hampshire Judd Gregg 202-224-3324 http://gregg.senate.gov/
New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen 202-224-2841 http://shaheen.senate.gov/
New Jersey Frank Lautenberg 202-224-3224 http://lautenberg.senate.gov/
New Jersey Robert Menendez 202-224-4744 http://menendez.senate.gov/
New Mexico Jeff Bingaman 202-224-5521 http://bingaman.senate.gov/
New Mexico Tom Udall 202-224-6621 http://tomudall.senate.gov/
Nevada Harry Reid 202-224-3542 http://reid.senate.gov/
Nevada John Ensign 202-224-6244 http://ensign.senate.gov/
New York Charles Schumer 202-224-6542 http://schumer.senate.gov/
New York Kirsten Gillibrand 202-224-4451 http://gillibrand.senate.gov/
Ohio George Voinovich 202-224-3353 http://voinovich.senate.gov/
Ohio Sherrod Brown 202-224-2315 http://brown.senate.gov/
Oklahoma James Inhofe 202-224-4721 http://inhofe.senate.gov/
Oklahoma Tom Coburn 202-224-5754 http://coburn.senate.gov/
Oregon Ron Wyden 202-224-5244 http://wyden.senate.gov/
Oregon Jeff Merkley 202-224-3753 http://merkley.senate.gov/
Pennsylvania Arlen Specter 202-224-4254 http://specter.senate.gov/
Pennsylvania Robert Casey 202-224-6324 http://casey.senate.gov/
Rhode Island Jack Reed 202-224-4642 http://reed.senate.gov/
Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse 202-224-2921 http://whitehouse.senate.gov/
South Carolina Lindsey Graham 202-224-5972 http://lgraham.senate.gov/
South Carolina James DeMint 202-224-6121 http://demint.senate.gov/
South Dakota Tim Johnson 202-224-5842 http://johnson.senate.gov/
South Dakota John Thune 202-224-2321 http://thune.senate.gov/
Tennessee Lamar Alexander 202-224-4944 http://alexander.senate.gov/
Tennessee Bob Corker 202-224-3344 http://corker.senate.gov/
Texas Kay Hutchison 202-224-5922 http://hutchison.senate.gov/
Texas John Cornyn 202-224-2934 http://cornyn.senate.gov/
Utah Orrin Hatch 202-224-5251 http://hatch.senate.gov/
Utah Robert Bennett 202-224-5444 http://bennett.senate.gov/
Virginia James Webb 202-224-4024 http://webb.senate.gov/
Virginia Mark Warner 202-224-2023 http://warner.senate.gov/
Vermont Patrick Leahy 202-224-4242 http://leahy.senate.gov/
Vermont Bernie Sanders 202-224-5141 http://sanders.senate.gov/
Washington Patty Murray 202-224-2621 http://murray.senate.gov/
Washington Maria Cantwell 202-224-3441 http://cantwell.senate.gov/
Wisconsin Herb Kohl 202-224-5653 http://kohl.senate.gov/
Wisconsin Russell Feingold 202-224-5323 http://feingold.senate.gov/
West Virginia Robert Byrd 202-224-3954 http://byrd.senate.gov/
West Virginia John Rockefeller 202-224-6472 http://rockefeller.senate.gov/
Wyoming Michael Enzi 202-224-3424 http://enzi.senate.gov/
Wyoming John Barrasso 202-224-6441 http://barrasso.senate.gov/
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR SENATORS
TELEPHONE: You can directly dial your Senators office using the number shown for them above, or you can dial 1-202-224-3121 (this is a toll call, there is no toll-free number to Congress) to be connected with a Capitol Switchboard Operator. Simply ask the Operator to connect you with your Senators Office. Time is crucial at this point, so a phone call is by far the best choice for contacting your Senators.
EMAIL: Simply go to each of your two Senators websites shown above and find the Senators contact form. Fill in the required information, type your message and click the "Send" button.
REGULAR MAIL: Send a letter to your Senator at their LOCAL offices nearest you. You can find the addresses for local offices on the Senators' websites or by looking in your telephone book's government section. It is important that you send your letter to your Senators' local office since mail often takes months to reach a Senator's Washington, DC office due to increased security at the Capitol.
EVERY EMAIL, TELEPHONE CALL AND LETTER MAKES A DIFFERENCE.
YOUR SENATORS NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU ON THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE. |
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violetfae
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by activist0000
on Thu Jun 11, 2009 12:01 am |
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violetfae wrote: THEY'VE TRIED THIS BEFORE: The PACT Act is not new. Different versions of the PACT Act were introduced in 2003, 2006 and 2007. No prior version became a law. We've defeated the PACT Act before and with your help we can defeat it again. |
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activist0000
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by Jay
on Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:35 am |
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Well their reasoning behind this bill is to stop "criminals" and "bootleggers" from buying cigs online. Dat's BS reasoning to me.
They know if smokers switch to cheapa brands dat taste very similar to premium cigs, then Big Tobacco in particular would lose lots of customers.
And since online is the only way to buy smaller tobacco brands, one way Big Tobacco (like PM and RJR) can put smaller tobacco companies out of business is by making it illegal to deliever tobacco online purchases.
Trying to get money out of smokers is the main reason for this Act. But anotha reason is to force smokers to smoke only high-priced brands instead of the cheapa small tobacco cig brands (including Native brands).
If smaller tobacco brands were available offline, the BT companies would lose 1000s of their customers.... probably a bigga loss than the smokers who regularly buy cigs online.
Why pay more for Marlboros or Newports when you can smoke a brand that tastes just about as good as em at a cheapa price? |
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Jay
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Joined: Jun 10, 2003
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by Asmoker2
on Thu Jun 11, 2009 7:41 pm |
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| I saw something interesting at a local tobacco shop...A sign that read you are only allowed to purchase a X amount of cartons on certain brands. I had never noticed this before...Has anyone else seen these signs? And could it be because people are buying the smokes and transporting them to states where they are much higher per carton? |
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Asmoker2
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by runamok
on Thu Jun 11, 2009 8:18 pm |
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Asmoker2 wrote: I saw something interesting at a local tobacco shop...A sign that read you are only allowed to purchase a X amount of cartons on certain brands. I had never noticed this before...Has anyone else seen these signs? And could it be because people are buying the smokes and transporting them to states where they are much higher per carton?
I expect a full report by Monday.  |
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runamok
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by Asmoker2
on Fri Jun 12, 2009 12:12 pm |
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lol... aye, aye.
Guess I should have thought about asking, but the nitwits that work there don't know squat. |
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Asmoker2
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by garhkal
on Fri Jun 12, 2009 1:24 pm |
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| I have only see one store that had a policy liike that and it was to control who was able to buy it, so there would be enough for every other customer... they had 120 cartons a month brought in for that brand, and 40 or so reg customers. So the manager worked it out to 3 cartons per customer. |
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garhkal
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by Asmoker2
on Sun Jun 14, 2009 3:42 pm |
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Well, not surprisingly, the worker at the tobacco shop where I saw this sign said that it's been there for eight years, but she had no idea why? She said it was a "state" regulation, but I haven't had time to check it out. Also, I've never seen this sign in any other tobacco shop.
I got the manager's name, but haven't been able to contact her. Seems she manages from afar. lol |
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Asmoker2
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by tuxlady714
on Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:26 pm |
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| THERE IS A TOLL FREE # THAT YOU CAN CALL TO GET TO YOUR SENATORS...1-800-828-0498 ALSO THERE IS A PETITION ON LINE YOU CAN SIGN TO STOP THE PACT ACT www.ipetitions.com/petition/cigarettesnonmailable/index.html THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOU WHO CARE. I WORK FOR A MAILORDER COMPANY AND THIS WILL PUT ALOT OF PEOPLE OUT OF WORK... |
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tuxlady714
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by activist0000
on Tue Jun 16, 2009 6:29 pm |
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tuxlady714 wrote: THERE IS A TOLL FREE # THAT YOU CAN CALL TO GET TO YOUR SENATORS...1-800-828-0498 ALSO THERE IS A PETITION ON LINE YOU CAN SIGN TO STOP THE PACT ACT www.ipetitions.com/petition/cigarettesnonmailable/index.html THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOU WHO CARE. I WORK FOR A MAILORDER COMPANY AND THIS WILL PUT ALOT OF PEOPLE OUT OF WORK...
If you had some way to notify postal workers of what is going on, it would probably be worth the effort. I mentioned all this to one postal worker I know and she was unaware of the legislation. Most people walk around clueless about what laws are being debated, even when their daily life is hanging in the balance. |
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activist0000
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