Selling Tobacco to Minors Online Draws Fire [07/15-5]

Excerpts from: Selling Tobacco to Minors Online Draws Fire

By Makebra M. Anderson, Chicago Defender [07/15/05]

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, has spearheaded an aggressive campaign against online tobacco retailers accusing them of making it easy and cheap for kids to buy cigarettes. His attempts to stop all sales of tobacco products online have smoker's rights advocates outraged.

"I think that the proposal to forbid online cigarette sales is unnecessary and takes away the consumer's freedom to purchase cigarette products from any store he or she chooses," argues Erik Horne, founder of SmokingPermitted.com, a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of smoker's rights for young adults. "No other legal product would be subject to the same type of restriction. You can order clothing, books, electronics, and even alcoholic beverages on the Internet. Why is this different?"

This is different according to Spitzer because "virtually all Internet .cigarette retailers violate federal, state and local laws, including tax laws, age verification laws, delivery restrictions and reporting requirements."

According to Public Health Law ß1399-ll, commonly known as "Unlawful Shipment of Cigarettes," it is illegal for a person who sales cigarettes to ship cigarettes to an unlicensed cigarette tax agent. It also makes it illegal for a carrier such as UPS or FedEx to transport cigarettes to an unauthorized recipient.

"UPS, Federal Express and the United States Postal Service all allow you to specify 'ADULT SIGNATURE REQUIRED' on the package, meaning the courier will not deliver it to anyone under the age of 21. The legal age to purchase cigarettes is 18 or 19 in every state-problem solved," Horne explains.

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