Puff puff puff

July 30, 2013 6:29 PM

(NYS - Seneca) Native American cigarette brands now being sold in non-reservation retailers, in other states (PA). Does anyone have any knowledge of this move? Were they required to get some type of court ruling to be allowed to sell off-rez?

I was visiting my parents, outside of Pittsburgh, PA, in early July and noticed a poster for Seneca cigarettes on the door of an A+ convenience store (Sunoco franchise). As a former smoker and resident of Western NY, who smoked Senecas up until last year, I recognized the brand/imagery immediately. The cashier confirmed that they were "the same outfit" from the Seneca reservations in NY.

The cigarette laws on reservations are confusing enough, and the rules always seem to be changing. I tried to Google information about Seneca cigarettes being sold off-rez, in other states, with no hits. Does anyone know anything about this move? Legal or otherwise?

Thanks for satisfying my curiosity!

posted by peacrow to Shopping (2 answers total)

Are they reservation price? Or state tax priced?
posted by tilde at 6:32 PM on July 30, 2013

Response by poster: State taxed prices, I believe? It's hard to tell because of how cheap cigarettes are in Pennsylvania, and that the prices varied wildly on different parts of the reservation. I think they were being advertised at 4.25/pack in PA. That seems very cheap but not impossibly cheap for PA. On the reservation, I would pay between 2.50 and 4.00/pack, depending on how far I wanted to drive on to the reservation; the shops right off the NY Thruway were more expensive.
posted by peacrow at 6:47 PM on July 30, 2013