In New York and Washington, D.C., more than 60 percent of what consumers pay is due to taxes
On average, no decrease of yield was observed in the low-alkaloid (LA) varieties
OConnor, M.D., of Boston University, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study
The IRRC's objectives were described as, "The reduction, elimination, or neutralization of systems which directly or indirectly support the illegal trafficking and sales of cigarettes within the jurisdictional boundaries of our membership states."[70] The group was a "service organization" with no law enforcement powers.[71] It collected information and facilitated the exchange of information among the member states, made recommendations to states and "conduct[ed] 'tactical' operations in source states, using informants, sophisticated equipment and vehicles, and surveil[led] smugglers into the home states of the group." [72] The IRRC also pushed for federal involvement in fighting cigarette crime, including federal legislation and federal prosecution of "wholesalers who conspired with smugglers."[73] The group took credit for returning $300,000 to its members through the sale of contraband and collected cigarette taxes in its first few months
