Revenue officials unplug cigarette-rolling machines

Holy Smokes doesn't make cigarettes, co-owner Josh Winrich said. His customers do. "We are in the rental business," Winrich said of his roll-your-own cigarette machines.
"The customer buys the tobacco. They rent the machine. The customer does all the work."
Not so, according to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, which informed machine owners like Winrich that they need manufacturing and distribution permits and other approvals for selling cigarettes.
The state considers roll-your-own stores as cigarette manufacturers and distributors under a long-standing state law.
State agents arrived last week at Holy Smokes, 1103 Rose St., and unplugged the machines.
Winrich has 30 days to remove the machines from the store, which he and co-owner Craig Squires opened in April.
For smokers, the advantage of the roll-your-own cigarette machines come down to cost, Winrich said. Customers pay $29.95 for tobacco, tubes, paper and filters they feed into machines that churn out about 200 cigarettes in 10 minutes.
"They're either going to continue to roll their own at home or go back over to Minnesota and buy cheaper cigarettes," Winrich said. "People are not going to stop smoking because of this."
Anti-smoking advocates disagree, saying that when the cost of smoking increases, it provides an incentive for people to quit.
"Cheap cigarettes are dangerous to the health of our state," said Judi Zabel, La Crosse County Health educator and coordinator. "It makes it easier for young people to start smoking and harder for adults to quit."
Tobacco use costs Wisconsin $2.8 billion in health care costs each year, Zabel said, $500 million alone in taxpayer-funded Medicare.
"This is an opportunity to call the Quit Line, to seek help," Zabel said. "The cost is one good reason not to smoke."
The state estimates there are 50 to 100 roll-your-own machines in Wisconsin. Retailers could face fines, penalties, permit revocation, imprisonment, and/or seizure of the tobacco and other personal property used in this activity.
Stephanie Marquis, a spokeswoman for the Department of Revenue, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the agency was simply enforcing laws that 8,000 traditional cigarette retailers follow.
"There are thousands of other businesses around the state who are providing jobs and following the law," Marquis said. "What this is about is making sure these (roll-your-own) businesses follow the law and fairly compete with other retailers."
Each of the three machines Winrich owns cost $32,500. He worries that it would be too difficult or costly to get any necessary permits to keep his machines operable.
He said lawyers are reviewing the law and a lawsuit could be filed by roll-your-own retailers.
In September, Winrich signed a year lease to open a second location on Mormon Coulee Road. He planned to open it last week but isn't sure what will happen now.
"Our business plan doesn't make sense without those machines," Winrich said.