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Something Revolutionary is taking its first steps.
Will the “Yesmoke” cigarettes be effectively banned in all the 50 United States … from the first to the last? The power of Big Tobacco is winning great victories on all fronts. The Swiss invader is about to be crushed by an attack from all directions.
It all started in the City of New York, the city condemned Yesmoke to the payment of a 17 million dollar fine for "smuggling", even though the cigarettes that the Yesmoke shop sent were always accompanied by customs declarations. So what was the customs service doing all this time?
The Big Apple, then, today seems to be in a position to confiscate any pack of Yesmoke cigarettes on the entire territory of the United States, regardless of who the importer is.
On the 20th of January, it was Oregon's turn, the State announced the indictment of the --World's largest Internet retailer of cigarettes- on a variety of charges.
If all the States and cities have their say, following this reasoning, the amount that Yesmoke should pay before it can sell Yesmokes in the U.S. could reach a BILLION dollars. And we mustn't forget Philip Morris' request for 550 million dollars compensation for Copyright Infringement and Unfair Competition.
Big Tobacco is doing all it can to stop any company from importing Yesmoke cigarettes with a scorched-earth attack around the brand of the Swiss invader.
“The Revolutionaries”
According to the American press, about 85% of US adults surveyed in August 1996 favored the Food and Drug Administration policy on tobacco, and roughly the same percentage said Congress should support the FDA ruling. What the remaining 15% had to say is not clear, as certainly they are not lovers of chemical additives.
In the face of this overwhelming public approval, tobacco allies in the 104th Congress introduced at least six bills to block the FDA from regulating tobacco. All of the leading sponsors accepted tobacco contributions, as did 82% of their colleagues in Congress.
2005: nine years later, the revolution has not moved ahead even one step. The House-Senate conference committee defeated the FDA legislation, in fact, the majority of the Senate voted in favor, but the House majority did not.
With their deep pockets, the tobacco giants managed to block those "dangerous revolutionaries" of the FDA, and they have bought themselves decades of voluntary self-regulation - a disaster for public health.
"Aggressively" attacked in Oregon
According to declarations made to the Associated Press --The Oregon Tobacco Tax Compliance Task Force "aggressively" investigates illegal distribution of tobacco products via the Internet. Under the Imported Cigarette Compliance Act, approved by Congress in 2000, brand-name cigarettes (Big Tobacco) cannot be imported without permission from the manufacturer.
In Oregon, Yesmoke's cigarette store has been charged with: COMPUTER CRIMES, DISTRIBUTING CIGARETTES WITHOUT A LICENSE, SALE TO MINORS, MULTIPLE ALLEGATIONS IN VIOLATING FEDERAL LAW BY WIRE AND MAIL FRAUD…
These criminal charges are the first filed by a state attorney general's office after U.S. cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris won a federal lawsuit against Yesmoke.
"Yesmoke is not just breaking the law in Oregon, they're breaking the law in many States," according to a spokesman of Attorney General Hardy Myers. "Wère just the first to go after them."
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