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Tag: New York

  • Black Activists Split on Menthol Ban

    Black Activists Split on Menthol Ban

    Photo: New Africa

    Black activists in New York are split on whether a menthol ban will be beneficial or harmful to the community, reports Gothamist.

    One group, consisting of family members of those killed by police, including George Floyd’s brother and sister-in-law and Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr. Garner was killed by police on Staten Island who were enforcing cigarette regulations.

    “My son was a victim because allegedly he was selling ‘loosie’ cigarettes,” Carr said. “That’s what they’re going to do when they ban these cigarettes.”

    “No more victims and no more violence,” she said, “and no ban on the menthol cigarettes.”

    Another group gathered 30 minutes later and a block away supporting the ban. The group consisted of 40 clergy leaders and activists as well as Hazel Dukes, president of the NAACP New York State Conference and former president of the National NAACP.

    “Our children are dying. Our kids think menthol is great. They think it’s bubblegum,” Dukes said. “Big Tobacco, you are getting out of our community.”

    The proposed ban would expand current measures to include menthol-flavored products; a city council bill has been sponsored by 20 members and a state proposal from Governor Kathy Hochul is up for a vote.

    According to New York public health officials, half of all adult smokers use menthol cigarettes, 86 percent of Black smokers smoke only menthol cigarettes, and 72 percent of Hispanic smokers smoke only menthol cigarettes. Black and Hispanic smokers make up a disproportionate number of smoking deaths in New York, according to state and federal data.

    “Prohibition doesn’t work,” said Sylvia Miranda, executive director of the National Latino Officers Association. “The best way is through a medical model, not a criminal model.”

    Supporters of the ban say it would specifically target retail sales and not personal consumption while critics fear the ban would ramp up policing in Black communities.

    “Contrary to what the opposition is saying, read my lips: NYPD will not be involved,” said Council Member Rita Joseph, the main sponsor of the city council bill banning menthol-flavored tobacco products.

  • ‘Tax Hike Will Kill Jobs and Boost Smuggling’

    ‘Tax Hike Will Kill Jobs and Boost Smuggling’

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    New York’s cigarette smuggling problem will get even worse if the state implements an additional levy of $1, as Governor Kathy Hochul envisions, according to a Wall Street Journal article. 

    The WSJ reports that more cigarettes are smoked in New York than are legally bought, suggesting considerable levels of tax evasion and avoidance. New York imposes a statewide pack tax of $4.35 per pack. New York City imposes an additional $1.50 per-pack excise tax.

    Union workers have expressed discontent with the planned ban and tax hike. “Our union brothers and sisters in the tobacco industry are at risk of losing their jobs, benefits and pensions due to Governor Hochul’s proposed ban on menthol/flavored tobacco and tax hike,” Mike Smith, president of Local 810 International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said. According to Smith, 500 out of 4,000 drivers, warehouse workers and salespeople represented by Local 810 would lose their jobs if the ban is approved.

    “While we understand the intent of the legislation is not to eliminate Teamster jobs or destabilize Teamster pension funds, the unfortunate reality is that those will be certain results,” Thomas Gesualdi, president of the Teamsters’ Joint Council No. 16 representing 25 locals and 120,000 members, said in a letter to Hochul early in February.

    “I understand the impetus of the policy is to get people to stop smoking, which is a good thing,” Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said. “But I think it shouldn’t be this selective. It goes way too deep … and would be a mistake, so I will be working to have it excluded.”

  • New York Clergy Oppose Menthol Ban

    New York Clergy Oppose Menthol Ban

    Photo: New Africa

    Several clergy members from New York State have signed a letter opposing Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed ban on flavored tobacco products, reports Spectrum News 1. The clergy members cite civil rights and criminal justice concerns that banning menthol cigarettes in New York would implicate.

    “It is unjust to expect communities of color to choose between greater public health protections and basic civil rights,” they wrote in the letter. “We do not accept the premise that we must choose between the two, that these interests are mutually exclusive or that this debate is zero-sum. A working group consisting of social justice advocates and law enforcement leaders, along with other organizations, is the best solution available to bridge the current divide.”

    Hochul’s proposal would also raise the per-pack tax on cigarettes by $1 to $5.35.

    Clergy believe banning flavored tobacco would lead to unfair outcomes for people of color.

    “Our collective primary interest is protecting the public, specifically communities of color, from abuse at the hands of both corporate influences and law enforcement,” they wrote. “We share the same belief as others that we can have a robust and productive debate that prioritizes both public health and criminal justice concerns.”

    “To that end, we are requesting that any proposed ban on menthol cigarettes be withdrawn at this time and a working group convened with the set mission to offer recommendations for new legislation,” they wrote. “That working group must take into account all of our collective concerns and address the need for greater public health protections that do not compromise our constitutional and civil rights.”

  • Firms Settle New York Tax Evasion Case

    Firms Settle New York Tax Evasion Case

    Image: Rawf8

    New York’s attorney general office announced a $50 million agreement with Grand River Enterprises Six Nations of Canada (GRE) and Native Wholesale Supply Co. (NWS) of New York to settle allegations of tax evasion in the state.

    According to the complaint, the two companies brought millions of cartons of unstamped cigarettes into New York from Canada.

    The attorney general’s office contends that NWS purchased cigarettes and tobacco products from GRE, imported them into New York, and distributed the cigarettes to retailers in the state—despite having no license to do so. GRE allegedly knew that the cigarettes it sold to NWS would be sold into New York without going through a New York state licensed stamping agent for prepayment of state taxes and would be neither stamped nor taxed as required by New York law.

    “Hardworking New Yorkers pay taxes and so should multi-million-dollar companies,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James in a statement. “Regulating and taxing cigarettes is a critical tool to protect public health from the deadly dangers of tobacco. Today’s agreement enforces New York’s laws and will stop the overflow of unstamped cigarettes into New York.”

    In addition to paying the $50 million, the companies agreed to modify their business practices to prevent future sales of unstamped cigarettes in New York.

    In a statement, NWS clarified that while the settlement ends the litigation, it is not an admission of wrongdoing.

    “In this almost decade-long dispute, the NY Attorney General claimed that sales of cigarettes by NWS to certain Native American Nations situated within the geographic borders of New York state were subject to New York state regulation and taxation. NWS, as well as the manufacturer of those products, GRE, vigorously objected to and adamantly denied such claims. As part of NWS’ Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, NWS allowed those claims to proceed in federal court in New York State.

    “The settlement announced today brings an end to that litigation, without any admission of wrongdoing or liability by NWS or GRE. The settlement payments are to be paid solely by NWS and are not denominated as payment of back taxes. They are payments that the parties agreed are payments of disputed claims payable under the trust set up in accordance with the Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.

    “NWS and GRE have at all times maintained and continue to maintain that the transactions at issue do not and did not violate any federal or New York State laws, particularly in view of well-established sovereign and treaty rights established with the federal government.”

  • NY May Verify Legal Age With Facial Recognition

    NY May Verify Legal Age With Facial Recognition

    Photo: zapp2photo

    The New York State Senate is moving forward with proposed legislation that would allow bars and restaurants to use facial recognition or fingerprint scanners to verify customers’ ages before allowing them to buy alcohol, tobacco or electronic cigarettes, according to the New York Post.

    “This is the new frontier of age verification,” said state Senator James Skoufis, who is sponsoring the biometrics bill. “It does advance the interests of convenience.”

    Skoufis envisions that bars and restaurants could scan fingerprints, faces or retinas of customers who want to be spared the trouble of showing an ID when they return to an establishment in the future. The proposed legislation requires all data to be encrypted and prohibits businesses from selling biometric data to third parties.

    “No one’s forced into engaging with this technology, but they would have the choice,” Skoufis said. “There’s no Big Brother involved.”

    Age verification based on facial recognition technology is widespread in China, but has yet to catch on in Western countries, where critics have voiced concerns about consumer privacy.