Law Snuffs Out Mailing Smokes to American Troops

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CBS News

Family and friends have suddenly found themselves blocked from shipping cigarettes and other tobacco products to American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq because of a new law meant to hamper smuggling and underage sales through the mail.

The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 quietly took effect June 29. It cut off those care packages by effectively requiring that tobacco be sent with one particular kind of U.S. Postal Service shipping that requires a signature for delivery but does not deliver to most overseas military addresses.

April Woods, the 26-year-old wife of a Fort Campbell soldier in Afghanistan, used to regularly send him packages of snacks, drink mixes, pictures and cartons of his favorite variety of Marlboros.

"I would hope that they would change it. It's just ridiculous that they take so much away from our soldiers," Woods said.



Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/10/national/main6759903.shtml?tag=stack

---

Well that is stupid and should be changed. I'm anti-smoking but I sure wouldn't deny these soldiers cigarettes or other tobacco products when they are facing more dangerous conditions than tobacco.

[cliffordu]

1. Smoking cigarettes kept me (mostly) sane during my

tour.


There would have been mayhem in my unit if they'd stopped the smokes....

[MoonGlow]

19. It is their business

[valerief]

2. I'm anti-tobacco, but I agree those troops deal with far more dangers than tobacco. nt

[Lochloosa]

3. Just pack them up and ship them anyway. Don't Ask Don't Tell

[OhioChick]

4. I agree with your comment....

It is stupid.

[Crowman1979]

5. Just when you thought morale couldn't get any lower.

[Ian David]

6. Didn't the Bush Admin ban porn to our troops? Why, yes... they did.

Stars and Strips: Porn Ban To Hurt Soldier Morale
05/12/2008 - 10:00AM by LibertySugar

The US Congress is considering legislation that would restrict the sale of pornography on US military bases around the world. Soldiers overseas would no longer be able to read the in-depth articles in magazines such as Playboy.

The Pentagon is all for Penthouse, ruling last year that such magazines were not technically porn — but US Representative Paul Broun from Georgia wants to overrule that decision with new legislation.

Soldiers — who say they read the magazines for their stories, too — are not happy about this censorship. One soldier said the ban would demean soldiers, treating them as if they were back in elementary school.

But, Rep. Broun (R-GA) believes:

Allowing the sale of pornography on military bases has harmed military men and women by: escalating the number of violent, sexual crimes; feeding a base addiction; eroding the family as the primary building block of society; and denigrating the moral standing of our troops both here and abroad.



More:
http://www.tressugar.com/Stars-Strips-Porn-Ban-Hurt-Soldier-Morale-1621873

[TheMadMonk]

17. ¿Que? Playboy is porn. Penthouse isn't?

It's a while now, but back when I was a teen and "borrowing" from my uncle's stash, Playboy showed boobs, bums and fuzz, Penthouse (or British mags, if you didn't mind sometime being confronted by someone's grandmother) was for the detail anatomy lesson.

[Jefferson23]

7. Let me understand this, the soldiers do repeated tours and are dealing

with hell on earth weather, IED's and a host of other life threatening situations for the most part daily AND a very high suicide rate..but we need to take their cigarettes away from them??



Sorry soldier, no stress relief for you!

Fucking idiots that come up with these ideas, astonishing.

[ejpoeta]

8. the troops get screwed every time don't they. they can friggin risk their lives daily

and lose limbs and die, but they can't have a damned cigarette. that's bullshit.

[greiner3]

9. I seem to remember;

About 5-10 years ago that one of the items the brass wanted to limit the GIs having was alcohol and cigarettes. Maybe it's just coming into effect.

But the timing sucks. Military vote and this is one more reason they have to vote republican.

[RKP5637]

10. The F'en decisions/laws in this country get more ridiculous each day! n/t

[pinboy3niner]

11. There was an old cartoon with two soldiers in a foxhole...

...and bullets whizzing over their heads. One soldier is looking at the warning on his cigarette pack--"CAUTION: Cigarette Smoking May be Hazardous to Your Health."

[proteus_lives]

12. That sucks. There should be an exemption for soldiers.

I remember my dad telling me in Vietnam the places that didn't have blue cloud over them were ammo and gas dumps.

[zipplewrath]

13. They sell 'em over there ya know

It's not like they can't get them, they sell them over there. It's just that they aren't suppose to be shipped via this method. Ship 'em anyway, just don't tell 'em the cigs are in there. I knew a guy whose wife shipped him regular "flasks" of all manner of alcohol. Just wrapped 'em up anonomously and shipped them. No one ever checked nor cared.

[Downwinder]

14. Don't they still have BX's and Commisaries?

They were always cheaper than off base or domestic.

[RamboLiberal]

15. Not that easy according to one wife - From OP story

Woods said her husband, Sgt. Randall Woods, doesn't have easy access to the stores on some Afghanistan bases that sell cigarettes and he also doesn't keep a lot of cash on him while deployed.

[SOS]

16. The law was aimed at Indian and interstate sales

It is now illegal to send any tobacco through the US Postal Service.

The name of the law is comical: The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act

Here in NYC, where cigarettes are $13.50 a pack, cigarette trafficking controls the market.

Unbeknownst to the morons in the Congress, when the profit margin is $20-$30 a carton, people will actually drive to Delaware and fill their cars with cigarettes.
Also unknown to the Congress: The mafia knows how to counterfeit tax stamps.

Net effect of law: cigarette trafficking is at an all-time high. Soldiers cut off.
Brilliant.

[happyslug]

18. Bred deep in the statute, Tobacco through the mail is illegal

I have read the statute clearly outlaws tobacco through the mai. section, The mail set of the statue are restriction is someone who SELLS tobacco and then ships such Tobacco, such shipments MUST be marked it contain tobacco AND person doing the delivery MUST make sure both the notice on the package is on the package AND that any and all state or local taxes on tobacco is paid.

It does NOT prohibit shipping tobacco per se, but any such shipment, if it includes a SALE of tobacco, then such a shipment MUST contain a notice on the package that the box contain tobacco and that any local taxes have been paid where the box is being shipped to AND that the shipment was received by someone over 18. I my opinion shipping of tobacco to a relative is NOT covered by this statute PROVIDED it is a gift NOT a sale. i.e. you ship it to a relative without expecting payment, either at the time the package is shipped, or any other time.

In my opinion the US Postal Service issued to strict regulation to its clerks and that is the problem. Congress does NOT need to do anything, what is needed is the Postal Service clearly says that if Tobacco is being shipped it can NOT be part of any transaction involving the sale of Tobacco.

Now Section 1746 clearly outlaws shipping of any Tobacco by the Post Office. Since it is a clear ban, it is effective.

PDF version of the Statute
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s1147enr.txt.pdf