When the state and federal governments started hiking tobacco taxes – a so-called sin tax — and driving the cost of cigarettes above $5 a pack, well, I got pissed.
And when I get pissed, I spring to action. I’m like a cat that way — an overweight and slightly emphysemic cat.
In this case, I began skirting some of those predatory taxes by buying cigarettes online. I can still get my premium brand for less than $4 a pack from one of the many out-of-state companies that deliver cartons of cigarettes to my home without adding Texas taxes.
It’s all totally legal. Cigarettes are purchased from somebody in a different state with lower taxes, which are paid by the seller, and then they mail the cigs to your door. Badda bing badda boom, you’re sated.
Politicians, however, love to tax things like cigarettes because doing so makes them feel morally superior (instead of just plain greedy and punitive).
The U.S. Senate will soon vote on whether to prohibit the mailing of all tobacco products, even snuff and chewing tobacco. The U.S. House of Reps has already voted its approval.
The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (the PACT Act) is a crock, a discriminatory crock. The government is exploiting smokers by passing moral judgment and taxing the bejeebers out of them (sure we’re already being exploited by the cigarette companies as well, but that’s our choice).
Many smokers, including the elderly, poor, and shut-ins, enjoy the ability to have ciggies delivered directly to their homes.
Tobacco is perfectly legal and shouldn’t be held to a different set of mailing standards.
So, if you agree with me, call your senator and tell them how you/we feel.
If you don’t agree with me, do nothing.
While considering whether or not to spring to action like a cat, feel free to consult this video:
Great article!! Thanks for keeping the word out there and letting people know what’s going on!!