Press Releases
NEWS: CIGARETTE TAXES UP, SMUGGLING UP
New York City - Representative Anthony D. Weiner (D – Brooklyn and Queens) released the following statement about New York having the highest cigarette tax in the nation: "Higher cigarette taxes will help curb smoking and its deadly consequences. But little revenue is expected to be seen at the City or State level. Instead they will create a greater incentive for smugglers to use black market sales to fund terrorism. As we create disincentives for New Yorkers to start and continue smoking, we also need a renewed crackdown on smuggled cigarettes. We cannot ease a major health crisis by helping fund terrorism."
The New York State Legislature recently increased cigarette taxes by an additional $1.25 per pack - a total of $4.25 per pack in the city. The average price per pack in New York City will now be upwards of $10.
Rep. Weiner is the author of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) legislation, which increases penalties for individuals smuggling cigarettes and provides law enforcement with new tools to go after black market sales.
Rep. Weiner’s new tobacco bill comes just weeks after law enforcement seized six million dollars worth of counterfeit tax stamps and arrested a Jordanian man as part of a major sting. According to a recent Government Office of Accountability (GAO) report, Hezbollah profited $1.5 million from the sale of illegal tobacco from 1996-2000.
