City Seizes 237,000 Black-Market Cigarettes

Standing behind a chest-high pile of more than 237,000 cigarettes, New York City officials said they had cracked down on stores selling tobacco without a license.

But smoker advocates say black-market sales will only grow in New York, where a tax increase has pushed cigarettes to $7.50 a pack and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is waging a policy war against smoking.

The city seized 11,871 packs-- or 237,420 cigarettes--from 40 unlicensed sellers between February 2001 and February 2002, said Pansy Mullings, enforcement chief of the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Authorities say they worry that unlicensed retailers are dodging cigarette sales taxes and selling tobacco products to minors. To obtain a license, sellers must agree to restrictions on signs and pledge not to sell to minors.

The city’s Department of Finance will auction the seized cigarettes to wholesalers.

The cigarettes typically sell at auction for about $10 a carton, and the pile seized in the crackdown will earn the city nearly $14,000, said Martha Stark, the city finance commissioner.