Roll-your-own (RYO) clubs are being formed in an effort to get around a new federal law that requires retailers using the machines to meet the same regulatory requirements as major tobacco companies.
In this latest effort to sidestep the law, retailers with the machines are forming a club, charging customers $5 to join. Because the machines are technically owned by the club and not the store, customers can buy their lower-taxed loose tobacco and then rent the machine for $12.50, according to Renia Liu, who runs such a business in Clifton Park, NY. Similar clubs have popped up from Staten Island to Massachusetts. timesunion.com.
