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More Under-the-Radar Laws
Due to the fact that the anti-smoking movement is oppressive, it is forced to work in a stealth mode to avoid the public becoming aware that it is actually fascism in action. Thus, it avoids public resistance. After all, they know as well as we do that the public did not want a blanket ban, the public wanted restrictions in certain areas - restrictions which, by the way, smokers would have happily accepted.

As most people on this side of the pond know, Obama recently rose the prices of tobacco and cigarettes in America - by a staggeringly high percentage.  The increase is made even worse when one considers that smokers largely occupy the poorer of the citizens, meaning that the poor are now becoming poorer if they wish to continue smoking. You would think that considering American smokers are now footing the bill of millions of children's healthcare that the taxes would go down, stay level or, at the very least, a slight increase in accordance with inflation.

Understandably, due to the extra cost and struggling incomes made even worse by the recession, many smokers have turned to purchasing their cigarettes and tobacco online at discount prices. Predictably, the anti-smoking movement has a problem with this, and as a direct result of this unfair tax hike a new bill has been proposed. Before continuing, keep this point in mind: the American government has increased taxes, thus increasing smuggling, and then want to introduce a new bill to prevent that. If they really wanted to lower tobacco smuggling they would simply lower the tax back; as it stands, they are merely proving that they have an anti-smoking agenda by making it as difficult as possible to smoke.

The S. 1147, 'The PACT Act' (Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act) aims to prevent tobacco smuggling, thus generating all tobacco tax. In fairness, I have no problem with prevention of smuggling and helping the economy. However, I also have no problem with people doing what they need to do, and smuggling in this sense comes as a result of oppression and fascism, making it utterly justified.

According to WashingtonWatch.com [1]:

Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 or PACT Act - Amends the Jenkins Act to: (1) include smokeless tobacco as a regulated substance; (2) impose shipping and recordkeeping requirements on delivery sellers (sellers using the telephone, mails, or the Internet) of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco; (3) require common carriers of cigarette products to obtain age and identity verification upon delivery of such products; (4) require the Attorney General to compile and publish a list of delivery sellers of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco who have not complied with the registration or other requirements of such Act; (5) increase criminal penalties and impose new civil penalties for violations of this Act; and (6) grant jurisdiction to U.S. district courts to prevent and restrain violations of this Act and direct the Attorney General to administer and enforce this Act.

Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) treat cigarettes and smokeless tobacco as nonmailable and prohibit such items from being deposited in or carried through the U.S. mails (with specified exceptions, including for mailings for consumer testing); and (2) authorize officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to enter the premises of certain cigarette shippers to inspect records and inventories.

Prohibits a tobacco product manufacturer or importer from selling or delivering in states cigarettes not in compliance with model or qualifying state statutes.

Limits the applicability of this Act with respect to Indian tribes and certain tribal matters.

Directs the ATF Director to create regional contraband tobacco trafficking teams and a Tobacco Intelligence Center to monitor and coordinate tobacco diversion investigations.

Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to the precedential effect of this Act.

One other point to consider is cost, as one commenter to the above remarked:

What about the COST? When the PACT Act of 2003 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. How much will the PACT Act of 2009 cost to enforce?

Now for the really interesting, telling, laughable, but angering part: cigars are exempt! So cigarettes, tobacco, and smokeless tobacco will be prohibited from importing, but cigars will be permitted. No prizes for working this one out, the law-makers fully understand their new tax hike is an unwarranted joke and refuse to pay the cost of the luxury cigars they so readily enjoy. Far from wanting to be affiliated with the average joe of society, they exempt their personal pleasures to allow them to buy low-cost cigars to toast their further destruction of society.

Fuck you all.


[1] http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_SN_1147.html#commentform