PACT Act Signed

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
April 5, 2010

The U.S. Congress and President Obama have delivered an important victory for the nation's children and taxpayers by enacting a new law to curtail the growing sales of tax-evading, low-cost cigarettes and other tobacco products over the Internet and through the mail. President Obama signed the legislation into law on March 31, 2010.

On March 17, 2010, the House of Representatives voted 387 to 25 to approve the bill, S. 1147, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act. The Senate unanimously approved it on March 11. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI).

Internet sales of tobacco products are a serious and growing problem that keeps prices down and smoking levels up. Such sales make it easier and cheaper for kids to buy cigarettes, facilitate tax evasion and cost federal and state governments billions in revenue. Many vendors that sell cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products over the Internet or through other mail-order sales do not pay applicable tobacco taxes and do not have sufficient safeguards to prevent sales to children, such as effective policies to verify a purchaser's age.

The PACT Act will:
• Require Internet sellers to pay all federal, state, local or Tribal tobacco taxes and affix tax stamps before delivery to any customer;

• Mandate that the age and identification of purchasers be checked at purchase and at delivery;

•Require Internet vendors to comply with state and local laws as if they were located in the same state as their customers;

•Provide federal and state enforcement officials with new tools to block delivery of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products that evade federal or state laws; and

•Ban the delivery of tobacco products through the U.S. mail.

More details: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/internet