Cigar Friendly Congressman?

Anyone know if any of our congressmen are cigar friendly?

We have a problem over here in Europe that we need a congressman to look into and I need to know which one(s) I should write to.

First a little background on the problem.

Last year in an effort to promote a "Smoke-free Military" the Military post offices in the European theater decided to start controlling all packages sent to APO addresses. Any package found to contain tabacco products are confiscated and the post office box owner warned.

However almost at the same time this regulation went into effect the military exchange system started to put in large humidors and started to sell everything from dog-rockets to primo for a good 10 to 15% over the prices you can find either in the US or online.

Coincidence? We cigar smokers over here doubt it.

You see if the law was really introduced to prevent soliders and civilian workers from using tobacco then the commissaries and AAFES in general should be prohibited from selling tobacco as well. This however is not the case, they continue to expand the cigar stock and sell cigarettes and chewing tobacco as well.

We have no doubt that this was done to reduce competition to the bloated prices the AAFES stores charge.

And now its going to get worse, alot of people were ordering online and having it shipped to relatives or friends in the states to rebox and ship over, now the post offices are planning on putting in X-Ray machines to stop this from happening as well.

Us smokers are fed up.

So I have decided its time to take action and have a congressman or congressmen look into the matter.

Any help will be appreciated. No one should be forced to buy expensive cigars.

hmmm....i buy my cigars from germany since it's cheap compared to what it's here

Ekans said:

hmmm....i buy my cigars from germany since it's cheap compared to what it's here

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Your Added Value Tax is? Germany charges 16% US MILITARY BASES CHARGE 0%

This has nothing to do with Germany this has to do with American Military Post Offices.

If you compare American or Online Prices to German Prices you can see we are talking about alot of money saved.

The Military exchange system wants us to only buy from them at more expensive prices. They still sell the cigars under German prices but quite a bit over the prices charged in the US or online. And to top it off they dont sell every brand. How would you like to be told "Sorry we dont carry Punch or cAo." ?

ahh now i see your point....I have no clue how much taxes they put on the cigars here but think like this, buy from germany for 10 EUR double that and it's close. and yes i envy the prices in US. I won't buy from US since i'd have to pay the same amount in taxes here (atleast).

Yeah its rough over here if you buy them off base And I do every once in a while to get real cubans. But being a semi-poor person its not something I can afford to do all that often. Thats why this is so important to me.

I would talk to your Area Defense Counsel, they may be able to be your advocate over there, you may not need to involve your congressman yet. If you do, you need to involve the congressman that you elected. If you know of any other people from your home state have them also contact him on your behalf.

tone-ny said:

I would talk to your Area Defense Counsel, they may be able to be your advocate over there, you may not need to involve your congressman yet. If you do, you need to involve the congressman that you elected. If you know of any other people from your home state have them also contact him on your behalf.

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I just read your intro post and it didn't say if you are military or not. If you are this works, if you work for the military an approach like this may work.

I agree. Get the ADC on this first. Before you ask the ADC, ask the post office what guides/regulation they are using to dictate these courses of actions. If they tell you it’s coming from their commander or it’s a policy, ask to see the policy. Remember, you want a copy of the regulation/letter that is dictating these actions. If they tell you it’s a regulation and they don’t want to show you, ask them the number of the regulation. All regulations can be found online.

Information that you want to find out is where this coming from…is this coming from the S.H.A.P.E CC? Ect Ect Ect... If they are not helping you, talk to your shirt and ask if he can get you the guides for this.

You need the ammo before you can make your case for the ADC. If the ADC don’t get you an clear answer, keep going up. IG, Wing CC, ect ect ect. Only after you have exhausted all your avenues do you want to involve a Congressman/Congresswoman. A Congressman/Congresswoman love nothing more then to get a letter about a problem and seeing that everyone you have dealt with up the chain have blown you off. Good luck bro!

I'm a civilian working on post. I'll see what I can do.

Are you a diplomat? I grew up as a diplomat brat and I remember we used to use APOs.

The diplomatic corps are at the mercy of the Armed Forces for getting mail.

Lumberg said:

Are you a diplomat? I grew up as a diplomat brat and I remember we used to use APOs.

The diplomatic corps are at the mercy of the Armed Forces for getting mail.

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LOL if I was I darn sure wouldn't be toking on a Quorum Toro ATM...

Na I'm just a working joe.

System Administrator for around 150 PCs and 7 servers.

Sounds to me that Base IG is the way to go. It has to be a local policy, since AP (Armed Forces, Pacific - as opposed to AE/Armed Forces, Europe) does not have this policy. Even as a civilian contractor, you should have the right to address base IG for any base issues that are impoper or FWA (Fraud, Waste, Abuse). Like Lopaka said, you need documentation to get the case rolling so try to discover the regulation or policy that controls this action. Also, try to discver what they do with the confiscated material, illegal action here will re-inforce your case.

Also, since Tone-ny mentioned getting additional advocates from your congressional district so there is more than one voice in the Congressman,s ear, another great tactic is to have all your friends there write their congressman. On each letter, in the final paragraph, add a statement that constituants in XX, XX, and XX districs have contacted Congressmen YY, YY, and YY. This gives the public servants additionall ammo, since they can (hopefully) see that the problem aflicts people from all over the US, and not a single district.

Ect Ect Ect...

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The word is Et cetera., abbreviated etc. Very common mistake.

Hi, Wurm! Congressman John Tanner might be able to provide you with the information that you need. Congressman Tanner's Home Page: http://www.house.gov/tanner/index.shtml We were in Belgium and Germany for Reforger, back in the 1980's. Have a great week! Regards, knightlaird

Hi, Wurm! By the way, when I said that "We" were in Belgium and Germany for Reforger, I was referring to fellow soldiers of the U.S. Army, and myself. Since you live in Germany, do you ever have the opportunity to visit any of the other countries of Europe? Have a happy Columbus Day this Monday! Regards, knightlaird

knightlaird said:

Hi, Wurm! By the way, when I said that "We" were in Belgium and Germany for Reforger, I was referring to fellow soldiers of the U.S. Army, and myself. Since you live in Germany, do you ever have the opportunity to visit any of the other countries of Europe? Have a happy Columbus Day this Monday! Regards, knightlaird

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I was on reforger in 84 and then was station in Grafenwöhr Germany in 85. Where I decided to stay.

So far I've been to Holland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Austria, Czech Republik, and Italy. I'm hoping to go to Great Britian on vaction in a year or two.

I'm going to do my best, you have a great one as well!