Cigarette Wars on CNBC now

[tangent4ronpaul]

It's a documentary on one Gvmt fail after another.

LOL!

[Bruno]

Thanks for the head's up!

[Anti Federalist]

The Free-Market Trade in Tobacco in Australia

Posted by Lew Rockwell on March 2, 2011 03:17 PM

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/79718.html

Writes Jacob Steelman:

British American Tobacco, Philip Morris and Imperial Tobacco, the tobacco companies who hold most of the tobacco market in Australia, are being threatened by underground businessmen who now control 15.9% of the tobacco market up from 6.4% in 2007. As a result of government regulation, taxes, and customs enforcement, the price of tobacco has gone up. The big 3 tobacco companies pay A$165 for 250kg of chop chop loose leaf tobacco whereas the “organized crime gangs” (referred to as the unbranded market) buy it from such countries as Indonesia for only A$45/250kg. allowing them to pass on lower prices to their customers. Not surprisingly, they have gained a larger share of the tobacco market. As a result, the big 3 tobacco companies commissioned a report entitled The Illicit Trade in Tobacco in Australia which — you guessed it — called for even more government intervention.

[Anti Federalist]

Tobacco is gearing up to be the new crack as prohibition moves forward.

[daviddee]

...

[nateerb]

I would love to smoke these regularly and be buying them from the black market, even if they taste like shitty foreign cigs which they probably do. Hell, I would sell them if I knew who to get them from.

It's a bit sad that I am able to get a black-market weed hookup within days of arriving of the cities I've traveled to this winter, but cannot buy Jin Ling cigarettes.

[daviddee]

...

[Bruno]

Tobacco is gearing up to be the new crack as prohibition moves forward.

Tobacco smoker:

"When first they came for the pot smokers, I did nothing, because I did not smoke pot.

"When next they came for the crack smokers, I did nothing, because I did not smoke crack."