West Virginia Bill Targets RYO Shops

The proposal seeks to ban businesses from possessing roll your own machines, subjecting violators to a $25,000 fine.

February 16, 2012

CHARLESTON, WV - Yet another state is targeting roll your own cigarette shops, with West Virginia now looking to ban businesses outright from possessing roll your own machines, the Charleston Daily Mail reports.

House Bill 4428, currently working its way through the state€™s House of Delegates, would ban businesses from possessing roll your own machines, with violators incurring a $25,000 fine.

Don Perdue, the bill€™s lead sponsor, said lobbyists for the cigarette manufacturers proposed the bill. Originally, the bill sought to designate the roll your own shops as cigarette manufacturers, requiring them to pay higher taxes.

However, that bill would only require the shops to pay state cigarette manufacturing taxes and not apply to federal excise taxes. Accordingly, the roll your own retailers would be able to sell cigarettes for $8.40 less per carton than big manufacturers.

Perdue strengthened the bill to ban the machines. "We were going to be encouraging people to sell very cheap cigarettes," he said. "In good conscience, I couldn't do that."

Ciggy Shack operates three machines in the state, and manager Todd Steincamp said the legislation is an attempt by big cigarette manufacturers to get rid of competition.

"They think that we're taking all kinds of money from them, but you'd be surprised at how many people don't use our services," he said.

Julie Rautio, a spokesperson for roll your own machine manufacturer RYO, said it's unfair to compare small businesses like Ciggy Shack to large cigarette manufacturers like Phillip-Morris.

"It's like comparing the Treasury Department to the ATM at your bank," Rautio said.

The bill passed the state Health and Human Resource Committee and now heads before the House Finance Committee.

For more information about roll your own tobacco, read "Roll Your Own Profits" in the January NACS Magazine.

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