Oct 31, 2007
Kingston Whig Standard
Just outside a gravel quarry in Tyendinaga Township, a spray-painted plywood sign still offers bagged cigarettes for sale - cheap.
For about the past month, buyers could walk away with a bag of native-produced smokes for $10. Authorities know about the operation but have not shut it down. Local health officials call the sale a crime, while police say they'll seize the illegal smokes only if they're transported out of the area.
Carol Snell, spokeswoman for the Hastings-Prince Edward Counties Health Unit, says the agency is leaving the issue up to law enforcement agencies for now. But RCMP Cpl. Nancy Mason says the federal policing agency prefers to focus on picking off shipments of contraband smokes.