烟草在线据美国便利店协会报道编译 据《政治谈论家》报道,美国烟草零售商们正在逐渐加大对纽约市长迈克尔·彭博最近遏制吸烟战略的抗争。纽约杂货店协会对市长提出的禁止在店内展示烟草、对卷烟实施最低价格制、禁止零售商参与烟草制造商的优惠劵活动的提案抱怨不已。从5月3日开始,纽约市议会的卫生委员会就这个问题举行听证会。
杂货店协会的代表大卫·施瓦泽说:“这位市长一定是伟大的魔术师Houdini——他一定是Houdini——因为在他上台就职的时候,我们在纽约市出售卷烟4200万条。伟大的Houdini挥动手中的魔术棒,突然之间,在2013年的时候,我们售出的卷烟就变成为700万条了。”
施瓦泽指出,吸烟者的人数并没有相应减少,他还补充说,纽约市的新法规和新税率使得卷烟黑市活跃起来。纽约州早已成为走私卷烟的第一州。
施瓦泽说:“这位市长和纽约市议会创造了我们所看到的最大的黑市。这个卷烟黑市与毒品贸易形成了竞争对手。机会主义者利用了制度,他们在纽约市购买未纳税卷烟,然后到处出售这些卷烟。”
纽约的韩裔美国人杂货商协会会长李崇希(Chong Sik Lee)说,纽约市长的计划将会进一步削弱小商户。他说:“即使我们的店内有早已废弃的标识,我们也会立刻被罚款。另外,这项提案还要求我们对商店进行改变,以藏起烟草产品。我们为什么要藏起合法产品呢?”
US: Tobacco Retailers Blame Mayor for Black Market Cigarette Trade
Tobacco retailers are ratcheting up their fight against Mayor Michael Bloomberg's latest tactic to curb smoking, Politicker reports. The New York Association of Grocery Stores railed against the mayor's proposal to ban in-store displays of tobacco, a minimum price for cigarettes and forbidding retailers from participating in tobacco manufacturer coupons. The City Council's committee on health is holding hearings on the matter starting today.
"This mayor must be the great Houdini — he must be Houdini — because in 2001, when he took office, we were selling 42 million cartons of cigarettes in the City of New York," said David Schwartz, a representative of the grocery store association. "The great Houdini waved his magic wand and all of a sudden, in 2013 we're selling 7 million cartons of cigarettes."
Schwartz pointed out there is not a corresponding drop in smokers, adding that the city's new regulations and taxes have allowed a cigarette black market to flourish. Already, New York is the number-one state for contraband cigarettes.
"This mayor and this council have created the largest black market we have ever seen. This black market in cigarettes rivals the drug trade. Opportunists have taken advantage of the system and they are buying untaxed cigarettes in this city and they are selling them all over the place," said Schwartz.
Chong Sik Lee, president of the Korean-American Grocers Association of New York, said the mayor's plans would further cripple small businesses. "Even if we have an out-of-date sign, we get fined right away," said Lee. "On top of that, the proposal requires us to make changes to our stores to hide tobacco products. Why do we have to hide legal products?" Enditem
重庆中烟,以新质生产力推动企业高质量发展