What???

[truelove]

U.S.A: PACT Act 2009
THE SITUATION: Right now there is legislation pending in the United States Senate - the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 (“PACT Act”) (S.1147) which contains, among otherbad ideas, a provision to make ALL cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products nonmailable. This legislation has already been passed by the House of Representatives and is currently in a Senate Committee that could send it to the Senate floor at any time for a vote!

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU: By making all cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products nonmailable, the Senate is ensuring you will no longer be able to purchase these products by
mail-order, telephone order, and/or the Internet because the United States Postal Service, along with UPS, Fed-Ex and all other carriers will be prohibited by law from delivering your orders
to you. Taking away your options means forcing you back to buying over-priced tobacco products from your local retailer once again.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Contact your Senators and tell them not to pass the PACT Act. Your Senators should be protecting your interests, but it is up to you to let them know what you think about the PACT Act. There are three easy ways to contact your Senators - by telephone, email, or regular mail - all of which are explained below. Every state has two Senators - please remember to contact BOTH Senators for your state. At this point time is crucial, so a phone call is by far the best means to use!

THE POSTAL SERVICE: The price of stamps is being raised practically every year. The PACT Act will take an entire class of legal, non-hazardous goods and make them nonmailable. What this
means is a huge loss of business (potentially hundreds of millions of dollars) for the Postal Service. Will they continue to raise the price of stamps and other mail services to compensate for their lost
income? The United States Postal Service is already suffering a fiscal crisis due to the downturn in the economy. If the PACT Act is passed and millions of dollars of revenue are taken away, there could be serious consequences for consumers, including reducing the number of delivery days from 6 per week down to 5 or perhaps only 4 days per week.

COST: When the PACT Act of 2003 (S.1177) 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. $140 Million over four years - and that estimate is already six years old. How much will the PACT Act of 2009 cost to enforce? Isn’t there a better way to spend our tax dollars?
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[Gotcoffee]

I guess everyone will have to sell expensive flashlights. With adaptors of course.

 

[AngusATAT]

Juice is about to get a whole lot harder to get in the US, folks.

It may be about time to start learning how to make our own. Good thing we have a DIY section here on our awesome forums!

 

[lordmage]

moving to campaigning considering this is both news and request of action to are members

 

[Judge Mental]

Contact your senators. Let them know you won't vote for them if they pass this into law.

U.S. Senate: Senators Home

 

[usamare]

Contact your senators. Let them know you won't vote for them if they pass this into law.

U.S. Senate: Senators Home

Thanks for the link. Here is the note that I sent to my senators. I threw it together quickly, which I hate doing because I always make big mistakes when I do that, but at least they know my opinion on this

Hopefully everyone will take a minute to do something similar.

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Please do NOT support S. 1147 The Pact Act.

Not only because the very nature of it is anti-free market, but it would make a great many tobacco harm reduction products unavailable to citizens who rely on them to avoid cigarettes.
Laws like this belong in a dictatorship, not the United States.

Oh and please spare me the whole 'terrorist funding' from Swedish Snus routine, it's really demeaning. The only purpose for the tax is to get more money for governments that are guilty of greatly overtaxing their helpless constituents.

Thank you and kindest regards,
M**** * ****

 

[TropicalBob]

This is a true terrorism bill, all right. It targets all nicotine users in the U.S. and puts terror in their hearts.

But here's the bottom line of what you are asking your senators to do: Allow nicotine addicts to escape paying state taxes on tobacco purchases.

Do you think they'll agree? This bill had massively overwhelming approval in the House. Expect exactly the same kind of lopsided vote in favor of it from the Senate. What senator will dare stand up and say, "Well, sure, let the addicts order stuff outside my state, thus escaping paying tax dollars desperately needed in my state." That is not going to happen and all the emails and letters and phone calls won't change it.

This sorry bill will pass and an end to my ordering snus, snuff, e-liquid and pipe tobacco online will have a date attached.

We are being herded into local tobacco stores. There are reasons for this. Money is number one (collect all applicable taxes!). Full product regulation is number two (everyone has to prevent "children" from getting hold of addictive nicotine products, eh).

Shout "free market" to the heavens, but it won't change the upcoming vote.

 

[PlanetScribbles]

Direct action? Sometimes it is the only response, when your elected reps will not listen to the people who put them there?

 

[usamare]

Dear Mr. ****:

Thank you for sharing your views on the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act.

If enacted, this bill would establish a means to prevent tobacco trafficking, address fraudulent online sales and mail delivery of tobacco products, and include smokeless tobacco as a regulated substance.

Should this legislation come before the Senate for a vote, I will keep your views in mind.

Thank you again for writing me.

Sincerely,

Sherrod Brown
United States Senator
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Well, this reply may look non-committal, but I should point out that when I wrote in about the Philip Morris Monopoly Act, I was informed in no uncertain terms by both senators that they were backing it.

This response suggests that maybe not all the votes have been purchased yet. A vote that hasn't been purchased or otherwise traded away could end up being influenced by public opinion. Definitely get those negative opinions to the senators on S. 1147 The PACT Act

Oh yeah, don't do it for me, think of the hookah bars!!!

 

[Vocalek]

This is what I left on the Web forms for both my Senators:

I am asking you to vote NO on the "PACT Act" (S.1147). I feel VERY strongly about this, because my life is at stake. The government needs to stop throwing up roadblocks to those who have switched or who want to switch to reduced harm products such as smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes. This law can have the unintended consequence of forcing people back to smoking tobacco cigarettes because it is the most easily obtained source of nicotine. I stopped smoking cigarettes on 3/27/2009 and I would like to keep it that way.

Here is what I received as a snail mail letter from one of them:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding electronic cigarettes.

In order that I might provide you with a detailed response to your inquiry, I forwarded your messge to Food and Drug Administration. You should receive a response directly from that office.

I appreciate your letter and thoughts on this matter. Your correspondence helps me serve you better in the U.S. Senate. Please let me know if the response you receive does not resolve your concern or you need futher assistance.

I would invite you to visit my website at Senator Jim Webb : Virginia for regular updates about my activities and positions on matters that are important to Virginia and our nation.

Thank you once again for contacting my office.

Sincerely,

Jim Webb
United States Senator