JR Cigars reports:
On December 9th, a provision was added to the CIGARETTE ANTI-COUNTERFEIT BILL (S1177), which would eliminate mail order cigar deliveries. This bill was introduced to stop American Indian Nations from mailing cigarettes from their reservations to customers throughout the country. The theory being, the States were not receiving their share of the Master Settlement, as well as cigarette taxes in each state. Cigars and other tobacco products were never an issue. The senators, however, included a section that expanded the scope of the bill to include “any tobacco product.” This bill will now take away your right to buy cigars in the mail....
Premium cigars are not readily available throughout the country. There are only a few hundred full-line cigar stores in this country equipped to stock this product properly. If you don't have a full-line cigar store in your area, you will not be able to buy premium cigars. You will not be able to buy many specialty brands from small manufacturers at all, as more than half the premium cigars sold in this country are sold through the mail. Unlike cigarettes, which are available in countless thousands of convenience stores, drug stores, supermarkets, and gas stations, properly humidified, handmade cigars are difficult to acquire without access to mail order.It's a moral outrage! I'm writing my Congressman to ask that the House not include this provision in its version of the bill, in hopes that it can be removed in conference.
