775% increase in tax on pipe tobacco proposed

[SkinsFanLarry]

Thanks for the info my friend.

 

[nate560]

Thanks for the update.

 

[WMGF]

Here is a response I got from Senator Debbie
And my response...!

 

[CWL]

Here's the response I got back from Diane Feinstein:

Thank you for writing to me to express your opposition to the "Tobacco Tax Parity Act of 2010." I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.

I am extremely concerned about the harmful effects that smoking and tobacco use have on Americans. The use of tobacco is the single-leading cause of cancer today and is estimated to account for nearly 30% of all cancer deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in every five deaths in the United States is smoking-related. While smoking among adults declined by about 17% between 1965 and 1991, it has not declined further since 1991. Additionally, I am extremely alarmed by the continuous increases in teenage and childhood smoking and the effects of secondhand smoke.

On January 13, 2010, Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN) introduced the "Tobacco Tax Parity Act" (H.R. 4439). This legislation would increase the excise tax on pipe tobacco to make it equal to the tax on roll-your-own tobacco, which is $24.78 per pound. Currently, H.R. 4439 is pending in the House of Representatives, and no companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate. Please know that I will keep your opposition in mind should this or similar legislation come before me in the Senate.

Again, thank you for contacting me. If you should have any further comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.

Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

 

[tmoney2007]

How about a list of legislators to vote against if you are a tobacco smoker?

 

[elanoralph19]

Are there any suppliers of smoking pipes, peanut smoking pipes, tobacco smoking pipes, wooden smoking pipes etc? I open a new shop of pipe tobacco in Phoenix, Arizona and need these products in whole sale rate.

Pipe tobacco in Phoenix, Arizona

 

[La Chupacabra]

This is evidence of the political clout of "Big Tobacco." Phillip Morris is behind this, trying to insure that every other tobacco product ends up being charged the same tax as cigarettes (therefore making cigarettes look cheap still compared to pipes and small cigars).

Make no mistake, folks--if the current Congress has their way, cigars will be taxed at this rate soon as well. It's just a matter of time the way things are going right now. I'm not trying to make a political statement here or start a "discussion board" thing, just a sad fact.

You are 100% right, Soon it will be too expensive to purchase tobacco in the USA. The Goverment does whatever it can to stop underpriced retailers (the PACT act) to stop the USPS from shipping from indian reservations. Thank God for the internet. I still smoke cigarettes as well as cigars ( I "F"ing hate cigarettes I wish I could quit) but untill I do , I searched out a European vender and can still get them for $16.00 a carton. We will all end up taking this road to skirt around the fucked up law of this country.

 

[cmhicksusmc]

I just threw up a lil in my mouth.

 

[wowsley]

Anyone have any idea where this currently stands?

Saw this on a pipe forum about the same time as it popped up here, wish I had saved my response and my reply to that.

I did get the chance to post both of those up at the B&M I work at and tried my best to spread the word .... but haven't heard much about it since last year. This still makes me SICK!!

 

[deuce]

Here is a response I got from Senator Debbie Stabenow...
Thank you . . .



. . . for contacting me about tobacco regulation. I understand your concerns.



In June, Congress passed, and the President signed, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (P.L. 111-31) with broad bipartisan support. I supported this important measure because tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States, resulting in 400,000 deaths each year including one-third of all cancer deaths, nearly four out of five lung cancer deaths, and one in five deaths from cardiovascular disease.



The new law authorizes the FDA to regulate tobacco products explicitly and restrict tobacco advertising, prevents the sale of tobacco to children, requires stronger warning labels, and ensures that tobacco companies bear the cost for regulation. Additionally, the FDA will have the authority to review companies' claims about the health effects of new types of tobacco products. This law will make a significant dent in one of our nation's greatest public-health challenges, protecting our children from becoming addicted to smoking.



Thank you again for contacting me. Please continue to keep me informed about issues of concern to you and your family.



Sincerely,

Debbie Stabenow

United States Senator

And my response...!

Senator,
Thank you for you reply. I understand the risks of using tobacco and it must be understood that all people who choose to use tobacco products knowingly assume the risk. That being said, I also must note that I dont smoke cigarettes. I believe that a distinction needs to be made between cigarette tobacco and pipe/cigar tobacco. The two are vastly different in their production and processing which results in two vastly different products. It has also been apparent to me that no study on the health affects of tobacco has made this distinction which may show major differences in how the use of both products affects the human body.

Aside from the physical and chemical differences between cigarette tobacco and pipe/cigar tobacco there are many differences in their use that are completely ignored in all health related tobacco research. For one, cigarettes are habitually used by addicted users who may smoke 10 to 20 cigarettes a day where as pipe and cigar smokers smoke purely for the pleasure of the flavor of the tobacco and characteristically smoke only once a day or maybe only a few times a week. Personally, I usually only enjoy one cigar a week. Secondly, the difference between each product and how it is consumed by the user is vastly different which I would also expect to change the outcome of medical research considerably. Unfortunately for responsible, educated tobacco users like myself, these differences are never considered when it comes to anti-tobacco legislation and It is tax payers like myself that are punished.

If you and other leaders in our government are so concerned with the health of the general public then why don't you cite the leading cause of death in the United States; heart disease. Since one major contributor to heart disease in the United States is obesity, which is fueled by our country's love for fatty foods, would it be fair to say that fast food kills more people in the U.S. than tobacco, considering that the American Heart Association noted over 425 thousand heart attack deaths in 2006? As far as I'm concerned it is that kind of logic that groups us cigar/pipe tobacco users with the problems of cigarette tobacco users. If you wish to be a fair leader PLEASE research and consider the differences I have outlined above.

Lastly, I would just like to say that prohibition, which is essentially what leaders like you are promoting for tobacco, has historically failed to control the substance in question. And not only does it not work, its bad for a struggling economy like we have here in Michigan.

Thank you for reading,
-Steven Stewart

Just wanna put it out there I sure as hell didnt vote for this biatch. Shes been horrible for this state and gets reelected.

 

[njstone]

^ she's also wrong. Recent studies have proven that the #1 cause of cancer is not tobacco, but STDs. And it's #1 by a mile. It's always been known that STDs were the #1 cause of cancer for women, but now it's been seen to effect men far more than the medical community previously realized.

Be that as it may, what we need to better educate people about is the difference between cigarettes and cigars. Studies have shown that proper cigar smoking is nowhere near as harmful as cigarette smoking, and cigars are NOT targeting minors, like cigarettes have historically done. Add to this the fact that the premium cigar industry is primarily family-owned and most shops are family-run.

The premium cigar industry is NOT "Big Tobacco," and this is what we need to educate people about, imho.

 

[keinreis]

I feel fortunate to live in a state that is partially a pro tobbacco place. There is so many cigar MFG.s and we even have Jose Oliva (C.E.O., Oliva Cigar Company) in the state House of reps.