From: Lincoln Journal-Star
By MICHAEL LaFAIVE and TODD NESBIT
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Illicit cross-border activity is not the only problem associated with confiscatory excise tax rates. Some illegal cigarette trafficking in the United States have been associated with murder-for-hire plots; financing of terrorist groups overseas; steps to adulterate cigarettes (which can leave them more unhealthy); counterfeiting; violence against police; corruption of government officials — including police officers — and the substitution of one cigarette product for a more potent and dangerous one.
There is an “iron law of prohibition” that nearly guarantees a targeted product will become more potent. As efforts to thwart their use “becomes more intense the potency of prohibited substances increases.” While cigarettes are not illegal, government-imposed price increases have led to what we call “prohibition by price.” When that happens, people do a lot of things that would make you think the product is actually prohibited by law. As excise tax on cigarettes increases, people begin substituting more potent nicotine (like roll your own cigarettes with no filter) in place of traditional brands.
