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NYC smokers to lose tax loophole

Smokers already exiled from restaurants, nightclubs, office lounges and taxis are about to lose one more perch: the Internet.

Under a state law that goes into effect Wednesday, New York residents will no longer be able to buy cigarettes from online or mail-order dealers. Tobacco distributors face heavy fines if they sell cigarettes to anyone in New York state except licensed dealers.

Anti-smoking groups said the ban, instituted after a three-year legal battle, was a victory. The law will prevent children from buying cigarettes online and will generate millions of dollars in new cigarette tax revenue, said Peter Slocum, vice president for advocacy at the American Cancer Society.

But to New Yorkers like Jackie Silverman, it is just another depressing sign of the times. Silverman said the online service that delivered cigarettes to her door spared her time and energy.

"It's taking away your freedom, that's all," said Silverman, who has smoked for more than five decades. "I feel it's an injustice. Smoking is not illegal, and smokers should not be put under such persecution. We've become the enemy."

Earlier lawsuits by cigarette makers and distributors failed to strike down the ban on Internet or mail-order sales. But legal challenges to the new law are not over.

The Online Tobacco Retailers Association and representatives from Native American tribes filed a lawsuit in April challenging the ban. The plaintiffs' lawyer, Joseph Crangle, said he would seek a temporary restraining order blocking the law's implementation.

Crangle said the ban violates constitutional law governing interstate commerce and discriminates against Native American dealers, who dominate the online tobacco trade in New York because they are not required to charge sales tax.

State agencies could not say how many New Yorkers order cigarettes online. But a study by an advocacy group found that New York lost out on US$895 million in potential cigarette-tax revenue because of such orders.
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