From: The Buffalo News/Letter to the Editor
It’s time for New York leaders to wake up and start listening to state law enforcement professionals. The adult smoking rate is going up because of the growing crime wave of cigarette smuggling in the Empire State, not because of budget cuts to anti-tobacco programs.
Each year investigative experts estimate that between 50 percent and 60 percent of all cigarettes smoked in New York City are trafficked via the black market. Smokers are spending less for illegal contraband cigarettes than ever before, making it easier to light up.
Health officials blame less spending on anti-tobacco programs. The real focus needs to be on the explosion of criminal tobacco trade. To reduce the largest black market in the nation, we need tougher penalties and more resources for cops to fight smuggling.
New York leaders should listen to their own Tax Investigation Division, which has some excellent enforcement ideas, and is a leader in the fight against illicit trafficking of contraband cigarettes along Interstate 95, the New Tobacco Road.
Richard Marianos
ATF Assistant Director, Retired
