LETTERS: A Cigarette for 75 Cents, 2 for $1: The Brisk, Shady Sale of 'Loosies' - Readers' Comments

• In many parts of the world, this is just another job. In the countries I have visited in Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, this is just another way of paying the bills. Why shouldn't Lonnie Loosie be allowed to free market his goods? Because we have made it impossible to do so because of regulation. Is this guy really causing society harm, hence the misdemeanor charges, or is he identifying a market and supplying the product, just as shoe shine men, shoe repair dudes, umbrellas, sunglasses, sunscreen, and many other loosie salespeople could be doing, but we are far more interested in a 'clean' sidewalk.
• regulations exist for a reason. . . . I'm all for stripping unnecessary oversight, but this not an example of that...there are good reasons for not having anyone who has access to cigarettes being allowed to sell them as they can. Beyond that, the tax on cigarettes subsidizes the services that NYers enjoy