SF teens sic feds on imported cigarettes (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

SF teens sic feds on imported cigarettes 
Eric Drudis
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF 
Friday, May 21, 1999 
©1999 San Francisco Examiner 

URL:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/hotnews/stories/21/
beedies.dtl 

 

A flavored, filterless Indian cigarette often smuggled into the United
States has become trendy among local teens who mistakenly believe it's
harmless, according to a study by San Francisco youths that has caught the
attention of the Federal Trade Commission. 

 The tiny cigarettes called beedies are cheap and fairly easy to find even
for underage buyers, according to the  Booker T. Washington Community
Service Center task force. 

 Ten San Francisco teens - several who spent a year researching beedies -
filed a complaint with the FTC that  caused the government to step up its
regulation of the import of beedies. Nearly 40 percent of the cigarettes are
smuggled into the United States to avoid federal and state tobacco taxes,
according to the task force's research. 

 Both the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, the
congressional go-to man on tobacco issues, have vowed swift action. 

 "I have urged the Customs Department to comply with this laudable request
from the young people of San  Francisco," Doggett said. "These young
Californians are taking the lead to protect both their neighbors and
children on the other side of the world, all of whom are being exploited by
the traffickers of these deadly cigarettes." 

 More nicotine than Marlboros

Beedies, hand-rolled tobacco wrapped with thin strands of pink thread,
contain 7 percent more nicotine than Marlboros, 250 milligrams of tobacco
and as much tar as regular Winstons, according to the manufacturers of the
popular Kailas Brand of beedie. 

But their colorful, cylinder-shaped packages are sometimes sold without
federal health warnings when importers have smuggled them into the state to
avoid California's hefty tobacco tax, customs officials said. Unwitting
vendors at corner stores, liquor markets and cigar shops later sell them to
teens and others all too willing to buy the "natural high" the Hindi writing
on the package promises. 

 In 1996, Bay Area customs officials seized 440,000 untaxed beedies, but
admit they probably missed hundreds of thousands of other packs. Some are
legal - registered through customs and taxed as tobacco products. Most
aren't. Forty-one percent of beedies purchased by the teenagers in the study
had no tax-paid stamp from customs, said Laurie Moss, a staff worker at the
Booker T. Washington Community Service Center. 

 Smuggled and sold illegally 

 "This means they were smuggled illegally into the country and sold
illegally to underage kids," Moss said. "Youth in the United States are
being exploited by the beedie industry." 

 An Examiner reporter bought two packs of beedies in downtown San Francisco
stores. Neither merchant charged the state-mandated tobacco tax - knocking
at least 90 cents off the price of an American-brand pack. 

 Their availability, cheap price and inspired flavors - clove, strawberry,
chocolate and mint are the most popular - have transformed the tiny beedie
into the latest must-try-trend for teens who simply consider them "healthy
Jamaican cigarettes," said Frederick Johnson, one of San Francisco teens who
filed the FTC complaint. 

 Johnson, 16, said he tried beedies once, "but they weren't ordinary
cigarettes" and he vowed never to smoke them again. 

 "Since we can't change the minds of people who smoke it, we're hoping to at
least raise awareness and stop people who would use (beedies) from using
them," Johnson said. "It's not only tobacco, but it's the worst kind." 

Nearly 50 percent of the teens surveyed said beedies couldn't give them
cancer, and 40 percent that smoked them said it didn't damage their lungs.
The surgeon general warns that beedies are as dangerous as cigarettes and
more addictive because of higher nicotine levels. 

 Federal guidelines require that all tobacco products, not just cigarettes,
carry one of the 12 surgeon general's warnings stamped or printed on
cigarette and cigar packs. 

 The teens' study also revealed that underage buyers (under 18) convinced 24
percent of the San Francisco stores they visited to sell them packages of 20
to 25 beedies. 

"In some stores they asked for our ID," said Maurice Evans, 17. "But in
other stores, we went in and asked them for it and we were able to buy them.
You've got to be 18 or older to purchase this kind of product, but we were
able to get it." 

 The Department of Public Health, which funded the survey, applauded the
teens' efforts. "They've been successful, and the response from the FTC says
they will require labels on the imported cigarettes," said Susana Hennessey
Toure from the Department of Public Health. "They did all their own
research, data analysis and organization to correct the problem." 

©1999 San Francisco Examiner