WASHINGTON -- U.S. Congressman John M. McHugh (R-N.Y.) has authored H.R. 2932, which, if passed, would outlaw the shipping of cigarettes and other tobacco products via the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
Currently, there is insufficient enforcement of age identification when purchasing tobacco over the Internet, he said. As a result, McHugh's Do Not Mail Tobacco Bill is crucial to protect children. The legislation has received strong endorsements from health groups and small-business organizations such as the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Cancer Society and the New York [image-nocss] Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS), he said.
According to an American Journal of Public Health study, almost 20% of the tobacco sales websites do not say anything about prohibiting sales to minors, more than half require only that the buyer indicate they are of legal age, another 15% require only that the buyer type in their date of birth and only 7% require any driver's license information.
State and local governments have lost more than a billion dollars per year in taxes evaded by online tobacco sellers. All three major shipping companies, DHL, FedEx and UPS, have stopped shipping cigarettes nationwide. As a result, all internet tobacco vendors are using the USPS to make their deliveries. Congress alone has jurisdiction over what is delivered via U.S. mail, and because of this inconsistent policy, states face a significant loophole in their tax enforcement policy.
It is far too easy for our children to purchase cigarettes online. Government on all levels, parents, schools and public health organizations have each taken steps to educate our children on the dangers of tobacco and to eliminate their ability to purchase it. But a dangerous loophole exists over the Internet, one we must take immediate action to close, McHugh said. These websites possess insufficient safeguards against tobacco sales to minors and utilize the U.S. Postal Service to deliver their products across the country. We must eliminate the last remaining loophole for tobacco by mail.
He added, Due to internet tobacco vendors, state and local governments have incurred revenue losses in the billions of dollars. Law abiding small businesses that dutifully pay the excise tax are suffering from the deleterious effect of Internet scofflaws. This legislation would help root out this illegal behavior while combating the disturbing use of tobacco by children.
NYACS president Jim Calvin said, The Postal Service has allowed itself to become a tool of the Internet and mail-order tobacco trade. We commend Congressman McHugh's persistent pursuit of an outright ban on such deliveries, in order to curtail online sales that dodge state taxes and age verification procedures and harm small business.
The legislation would amend Title 39 of the U.S. Code, restricting the USPS from delivering certain tobacco products. The bill provides that cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and roll-your-own-tobacco are nonmailable matter, shall not be carried or delivered by mail and shall be disposed of as the Postal Service directs. It also imposes a penalty of $100,000 for each violation.
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