New Theft Item = Cigarettes @ Convenience Stores

[emt]

Fox 29 in West Palm Beach just aired videos of 2 - 3 robberies of convenience stores. 1. semi-automatic weapon while clerk was working-requested cigarettes & cash. 2. Smashing convenience store window at night to empty cigarettes in big trash can & escape. 3. another they mentioned but not enough time to show.

The old supply/demand varying with price of items increasing & loss of jobs in the U.S. along with lack of convictions pushing the Risk/Reward in favor of the new criminals....

As most know I am in favor of OTC drug purchasing with lower drug prices. I am actually less in favor of smoking due to 1. second hand smoke inhalation 2. most do not rapidly die like with drug overdose but instead put a severe drain on our economic system with slowly progressing pulmonary conditions.
Any ideas of how to lower this growing trend?
Maybe if they had the drugs OTC cheap enough, they would choose them over smoking???

[db83]

they could just be selling them. Those things aren't cheap.

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by db83

they could just be selling them. Those things aren't cheap.

it's all taxes too...

don't smoke, never have... but I see the prices all the time... IIRC, average price for a carton is like $35 in the states... here, it's half that (USVI)

[inventor]

If they catch the guys robbing/breaking into convenience stores for cigarettes, they should do two things.

1. Let them smell heroin.

2. Tell them Bin Laden has all the heroin.

Job done.

[scubastud]

Stealing cigs and selling them is big business, has been for decades.( I learned this from watching the movie Goodfellas.)

[inventor]

Originally Posted by scubastud

Stealing cigs and selling them is big business, has been for decades.( I learned this from watching the movie Goodfellas.)

Hah! I learned it from watching 'Beverly Hills Cop'. That or actually life in small town West Virginia.

[navyhmc]

Can be big business. We just had a cig stealing crew get busted after they did some 25 after hour store break ins' all told they stole over 1,000 cartons of cigs. The leader then had the gall to claim he had chest pain and needed ems to take him to the hospital. When he was out of ear shot of his buddies-and girlfriend, he reportedly tried to pin the whole thing on both of them. Had a friend who was an officer on the bust.

All told, these 4 people did over $100,000 damage to businesses and stole over $50,000 worth of cigarettes to support their meth habit.

[TJDiver]

Originally Posted by emt

Fox 29 in West Palm Beach just aired videos of 2 - 3 robberies of convenience stores. 1. semi-automatic weapon while clerk was working-requested cigarettes & cash. 2. Smashing convenience store window at night to empty cigarettes in big trash can & escape. 3. another they mentioned but not enough time to show.

The old supply/demand varying with price of items increasing & loss of jobs in the U.S. along with lack of convictions pushing the Risk/Reward in favor of the new criminals....

As most know I am in favor of OTC drug purchasing with lower drug prices. I am actually less in favor of smoking due to 1. second hand smoke inhalation 2. most do not rapidly die like with drug overdose but instead put a severe drain on our economic system with slowly progressing pulmonary conditions.
Any ideas of how to lower this growing trend?
Maybe if they had the drugs OTC cheap enough, they would choose them over smoking???

Well, I've not done any studies, but I did smoke many, many years ago...and, for me, drugs as an alternative would not have made any dent in my smoking habit. If anything, it probably would have intensified it. There were many times I made the statement, "If I'd give up beer, I could quit smoking." I just didn't wanna give up either. I finally quit cold turkey. I was out working in my yard one day, when I heard the phone ring. I was waiting on a call about a large project I might land, so I ran like crazy to catch the phone. By the time I answered the phone, I could barely talk to the guy. When we hung up, I was so disgusted with myself, that I took my cigs out of my pocket, wadded them up, threw them in the garbage, and never looked back. That was 25 years ago, and I wish everyone could do the same because it was definitely one of the best decisions I ever made.