3 ms·

Why exactly is selling single cigarettes illegal?

cushychicken 12y ago
Legal constraints of selling tobacco require a licensed vendor to sell them in licensed packages/quantities. Eric Garner wasn't licensed, and single cigarettes aren't allowed to be sold in the US. Fairly petty crimes, but crimes.
- jonah 12y ago
  You can buy single cigarettes in many bars. (Don't know if it's legal though.)
  - cushychicken 12y ago
    Interesting. I've never seen that. The packaging thing may be a state to state restriction, because I've never been to a bar that sold cigarettes in quantities less than a pack.
sp332 12y ago
Taxes on packs of cigarettes are very high in New York. So people smuggle in packs or cartons from neighboring states and sell them under the table.
- waterlesscloud 12y ago
  Until this story I didn't realize how expensive cigarettes are now in New York. They're $13-14 for a pack of 20. So people sell them as singles for $1 each. Likely brought in from lower-taxed areas so the profit margin is higher. I've heard cigs sell for $5 a pack in South Carolina, which doesn't add on taxes at all, so you can see how much the taxes add up. EDIT- changed price in SC based on googling.
mc32 12y ago
I dont know for sure but i think they typically come from contraband cigarettes (where taxes have not been paid and, as others point out, without required license). It'd be like selling whiskey shots on a street corner.
- thrownaway2424 12y ago
  Strangely not illegal: making and marketing a toxic product that has killed literally tens of millions of people.
  - freditup 12y ago
    Alcohol? </sarcasm> Truth is, pretty much everything is toxic at some point of consumption or another. Deciding where to draw the line is not black & white to me
refurb 12y ago
Taxes. You can do a lot of things to the government and get away with it, but the second you take their money all hell breaks loose.
fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
It's tax evasion. They buy them in Jersey or something and import them into NYC illegally. They can't just sell packs of cigarettes over the counter because they lack a tax-stamp or something. Edit: I mean, it's for the children of course. /s

Legal constraints of selling tobacco require a licensed vendor to sell them in licensed packages/quantities. Eric Garner wasn't licensed, and single cigarettes aren't allowed to be sold in the US. Fairly petty crimes, but crimes.

jonah 12y ago
You can buy single cigarettes in many bars. (Don't know if it's legal though.)
- cushychicken 12y ago
  Interesting. I've never seen that. The packaging thing may be a state to state restriction, because I've never been to a bar that sold cigarettes in quantities less than a pack.

sp332 12y ago

Taxes on packs of cigarettes are very high in New York. So people smuggle in packs or cartons from neighboring states and sell them under the table.

waterlesscloud 12y ago
Until this story I didn't realize how expensive cigarettes are now in New York. They're $13-14 for a pack of 20. So people sell them as singles for $1 each. Likely brought in from lower-taxed areas so the profit margin is higher. I've heard cigs sell for $5 a pack in South Carolina, which doesn't add on taxes at all, so you can see how much the taxes add up. EDIT- changed price in SC based on googling.

mc32 12y ago

I dont know for sure but i think they typically come from contraband cigarettes (where taxes have not been paid and, as others point out, without required license). It'd be like selling whiskey shots on a street corner.

thrownaway2424 12y ago
Strangely not illegal: making and marketing a toxic product that has killed literally tens of millions of people.
- freditup 12y ago
  Alcohol? </sarcasm> Truth is, pretty much everything is toxic at some point of consumption or another. Deciding where to draw the line is not black & white to me

refurb 12y ago

Taxes. You can do a lot of things to the government and get away with it, but the second you take their money all hell breaks loose.

fnordfnordfnord 12y ago

It's tax evasion. They buy them in Jersey or something and import them into NYC illegally. They can't just sell packs of cigarettes over the counter because they lack a tax-stamp or something. Edit: I mean, it's for the children of course. /s