Over the past few years Europe has adopted a much harsher stance on smoking through tariffs and public smoking bans.  The most notable of smoke-friendly countries, France, too adopted a smoking ban that very much came down on café culture, and now Greece has added itself to the mix.

The new law is charged with banning smoking in enclosed public spaces and tobacco advertising.  This is the second

Image courtesy of AFP

time in just over a year that the Greek government has attempted to curb smoking in the country.  An estimated 40% of Greek adults smoke, which is well above the EU national average of 29%.

Smokers who violate the law risk being fined hundreds of euros and businesses may have to pay several thousand. On the flip-side, café and restaurant owners are crying out accusing the government of targeting them in a time of economic crisis.  Starting today (1 September) smokers who break this new law can be fined up to 500 euros (£413; $636).  Businesses may have to pay up to 10,000 euros.

Just as we are accustomed here in the US, the Greek government is instituting this law under the guise of protecting public health.  Ironically enough, the government also commented that the Greek people should be more conscious overall of their actions citing the recently-adopted austerity plan to be used as a tool to resurrect the near-bankrupt economy as a metaphor.

A little over one year ago the Greek government imposed restrictions on smoking in various public places which were largely ignored by everyone. The government claims this new smoking ban covers a wider range of locations as a means to truly seem serious about it this time around, but only time will tell if the new law is enforced and if the Greek people learn to respect it.

As we all know there are very few places where as cigar smokers we can sit down, relax, and just puff away.  When you think of taking a vacation as a cigar lover a few scenarios pop into your mind: either you choose a destination like the Dominican Republic in hopes of seeing “tobacco country,” you go somewhere where there are reputed tobacconists so you can add to your humidor, or at the very least choose  a place that in some way or another is smoke friendly.  I’ve definitely heard of nonsensical actions like Amtrak not allowing cigars or pipes in the smoking car of their Auto Train, but now I have heard it all: Carnival Cruises now wants to take many of their cigar bars — a place on ships actually named the Cigar Bar — and restrict smoking.

Carnival’s blogger and Senior Cruise Editor John Heald revealed on Friday that Carnival will be testing a more restrictive smoking policy on many of its popular ships.  The cruise line itself has historically had a more relaxed approach to smoking since most of its ships do have cigar bars and various other open-air decks & locales where smoking is permitted.  Although he states that no final decision has been made and this is just an experiment, large ships such as the Destiny, Freedom, and Glory are now entirely non-smoking despite each behemoth of a ship actually having been built with a designated smoking room.  Supposedly to not completely restrict cigar and cigarette smokers Carnival’s administration is testing out other locations for smoking that are well-removed from other highly trafficked parts of the vessel.

I think what strikes me as absolutely moronic (outside of having a cigar bar that doesn’t allow smoking) is  the way these ships were designed was basically set up to encourage complaints from non-smokers: on many of Carnival’s ships one has to walk through the cigar bar in order to access the internet café.  Many non-smokers have apparently stressed to Carnival’s powers-that-be that while they enjoy the live music in the cigar bar, they don’t enjoy the smoking.  Pardon me while I tap into my inner Dennis Miller, but give me a break: it’s a cruise ship for Christ’s sake and there is entertainment EVERYWHERE.  I went on a Carnival cruise once in my life and what kept me sane was the cigar bar because it got me away from small children with absentee parents, oddly-themed bingo games, and dance clubs with DJs who obviously failed the wedding circuit because they embrace Kool & the Gang just a little too much.

As a cigar lover himself, John Heald admits he is a bit torn over this issue, but he is conducting a poll on his Facebook page wanting to know what consumers think of this measure, so I suggest you express your opinion if you love cigars and taking cruises.  What do YOU think about this??

Check out this latest piece from NY1.com which was just published this afternoon with video.  Over six months ago it was proposed here in the Five Boroughs to make all parks and beaches smoke-free, and although it seemed the tax legislation issue took over, it’s back on the table–this time including boardwalks.

Read this carefully and notice this is only addressing cigarettes and mentions nothing of cigar smokers because us cigar smokers are not the ones causing the drama.  Not that I believe that making public property smoke-free is the way to go, but I would love to see just once a news story or piece of legislation that explains all of these issues with tobacco we face lately are really targeting the cigarette community and not the cigar & pipe community.

If you care for your civil liberties at all, make your voice be heard.  If we lose the ability to enjoy a cigar on the beach or strolling through the park, then the next measure will be to turn New York City into Burbank, CA and make it illegal to smoke on the street as well.  This has gone too far….

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Health advocates gathered on the Coney Island boardwalk today to propose extending the city’s tobacco ban to all Parks Department properties, which would include beaches, boardwalks and parks.

The Coalition for a Smoke-Free City says smoking creates a litter problem and a health hazard.

“The smoke is an asthma trigger,” said Joanne Koldare of the NYC Coalition for a Smoke-Free City. “If anyone has any kind of lung or heart disease, it can also be a trigger. And we have the whole waste problem. If you’re a smoker and you want to smoke and it’s your right, then why use the beach as an ash tray?”

To illustrate their point, advocates spent the morning picking cigarette butts out of the sand.

But not everyone is supporting the proposal.

“You can’t take that away from people,” said one Brooklynite. “If someone’s smoking, the smoke dissipates in the air.”

“What do we have cigarette police? We’ve got everything else. What’s going on here?” asked another. “It’s nonsense.”

Advocates say a ban could be imposed by the Parks Department alone, but it is more likely that they will seek legislative approval from the City Council or the mayor.

While Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a champion of the non-smoking cause, he would not commit today to backing this plan.

“If you want to do something that’s injurious to your health, you have a right to do it,” said the mayor. “I don’t think it’s very intelligent to do. But there are a lot of things people do that don’t make a lot of sense, but the issue is are you hurting somebody else. And that’s the issue with smoking, the second-hand smoking.”

Anti-smoking advocates say that more than half the counties in New York State already have smoke-free parks and 10 counties in New York State have already implemented smoke-free beaches.

FDA Issues Draft Guidance Report on Sell Through Question

On Saturday, June 5th, the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products issued a document titled “Draft
Guidance for Industry: Use of “Light,” “Mild,” “Low,” or Similar Descriptors in the Label,
Labeling, or Advertising of Tobacco Products”. This Draft Guidance states that wholesalers and
retailers may distribute or sell tobacco products in their possession for which the label, labeling, or
advertising contains the descriptors “light,” “low,” or “mild,” or any similar descriptor after July 22,
2010. There is no time limit or time period for wholesalers and retailers to sell out their inventory
of these tobacco products with descriptors. This regulation on descriptor terms does not affect
cigars or pipe tobacco. A copy of this Draft Guidance accompanies this NATO E-News Bulletin
(see the last page for the confirmation of the ability to sell through product).

Postal Service Issues Final Rule to Implement PACT Act

On Friday, June 4th, the U.S. Postal Service issued the Final Rule to implement the provisions of the
PACT Act prohibiting the mailing of cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco. A copy
of the Final Rule accompanies this NATO E-News Bulletin. The Final Rule takes effect on June 29,
2010 and will prohibit the mailing of cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco in the
continental United States. Any of these tobacco products deposited into the mail are subject to seizure
and forfeiture and the sender of the tobacco products is subject to criminal fines, imprisonment and civil
penalties. There are limited exceptions to allow packages of these tobacco products to be mailed within
the States of Alaska and Hawaii and for mailing of these products between tobacco industry businesses.
Pipe tobacco and cigars are not regulated by the PACT Act and can continue to be mailed.

New York City Warning Signs Challenged

Altria Group, Lorillard, Inc., Reynolds American, Inc., two retailers and two retail trade
associations have filed a lawsuit in U.S. Federal District Court challenging the New York City
Board of Health’s ordinance requiring graphic anti-tobacco health warning signs be posted in retail
stores that sell tobacco products. The lawsuit includes claims that the federal government warning
label regulations pre-empt this action by New York City’s Board of Health and that the ordinance
infringes on the right to communicate with consumers about lawful tobacco products. This
litigation will be monitored and NATO members will be updated regarding further developments in
this case.

State Legislative Updates

Connecticut: A proposal that would increase taxes on other tobacco products from 48.59% to
65.03% passed the Connecticut Senate, but the Connecticut House did not concur. The proposal is
in conference committee. An earlier version of this bill included a proposal to raise cigarette taxes
by 20 cents per pack was defeated.
Illinois: The Illinois legislature concluded its session last week without raising the state excise tax
on cigarettes. A bill would have raised the cigarette tax rate by $.50 per pack for each of the next
two years.

NATO Continues with Tax Windfall Strategy

NATO is continuing with an effort to educate lawmakers about the potential tax windfall that states will likely receive as a result of the federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act).  To date, NATO has sent letters regarding the likelihood of the tax windfall to lawmakers in Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York and the governor of South Carolina.  A reply letter from New York State Assemblyman Brian Kolb acknowledging the tax windfall is reproduced with the Assemblyman’s permission in the cover e-mail message that accompanies this E-News bulletin.

This week, NATO also sent a letter to New Jersey Assemblyman Louis Greenwald who just last month introduced Assembly Bill Number A.2590 to reduce the New Jersey cigarette tax rate by $.30 per pack from the current $2.70 per pack rate to $2.40 per pack.  The NATO letter indicated that the likely tax windfall may be an argument in favor of reducing the state’s cigarette tax rate.

Postal Service Issues Proposed Rule to Implement PACT Act

Today, the U.S. Postal Service published a Notice of Proposed Rule in the Federal Register to implement the provisions of the PACT Act prohibiting the mailing of cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco (see accompanying Federal Register notice).  According to the notice, the Postal Service will attempt to publish a final rule effective June 29, 2010 to cover the general non-mailability provisions of the PACT Act.  Public comments to the proposed rule must be submitted by May 17, 2010.  NATO plans to submit comments supporting the proposed rule.

Specifically, the proposed rule states that cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco cannot be mailed in the continental United States.  Any of these tobacco products deposited into the mail are subject to seizure and forfeiture and the sender of the tobacco products is subject to criminal fines, imprisonment and civil penalties.  There is a limited exception to allow packages of these tobacco products to be mailed within the States of Alaska and Hawaii.  Cigars can continue to be mailed.

Moreover, the Proposed Rule states that due to the complex verification process to ensure that these tobacco products are not mailed and the severe penalties for violating the law, the Postal Service has also concluded that cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco cannot be handled through the U.S. Mail either outbound to international destinations or inbound from international locations.  As stated in the notice, “the Postal Service does not believe that any alternative exists at this time to allow U.S. mailers to tender cigarettes and smokeless tobacco as outbound international mail or to receive them as inbound international mail under the PACT Act’s exceptions.”  This position should further reduce the sale of these tobacco products from Internet sellers located outside the U.S.

FDA: Court Decision Striking Down Color Ad Ban Applies to All

The FDA is required under the recently enacted tobacco regulations to reissue its 1996 rule banning color advertisements of tobacco products.  However, given the Kentucky Federal District Court decision issued in January of this year which struck down the color advertising ban, the FDA just issued a “Guidance” document which states the agency will not take any enforcement action regarding color tobacco advertisements against any retailer, wholesaler or manufacturer while the FDA’s appeal of the Kentucky court decision is pending.  A copy of the FDA Guidance notice accompanies this bulletin.

Check out this post from the website Americans for Tax Reform about the very sad, hidden agenda behind Gov. Patterson’s desire to raise the tobacco tax here in New York State from 46% to 90%.

Many thanks to Israel Markevitz of Uptown Cigar Company for bringing this article to my attention!

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From Joshua Culling on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 5:56 PM

David Paterson’s New York is in a whole heap of trouble. The state is barely keeping its head above water with a series of stop-gap spending bills to keep the lights on until the legislature and Gov. Paterson take serious action to bring the budget into balance. This is almost certain to be achieved via what is becoming an annual tradition in Albany – crippling tax hikes coupled with spineless defferal of responsibility to next year’s crop of politicians.

Looking at the governor’s latest “gap-closing plan” – I prefer to call it a status quo maintenance plan – a couple things jump out. Among roughly $1 billion in “revenue actions,” he includes yet another tax increase on tobacco products. In addition to his previous call for a $1 per pack cigarette tax increase, Paterson now insists on a 95 percent tax increase on chewing tobacco, cigars, pipe tobacco, and rolling tobacco, along with a whopping 122 percent tax increase on snuff.

Reading further, though, we get to the interesting part:

Reduce DOH Tobacco Prevention Program (2010-11 Savings: $5 million; 2011-12 Savings: $5 million): This proposal would reduce funding for the Tobacco Prevention Program from $57 million to $52 million. The program supports a variety of tobacco use prevention/cessation initiatives. When coupled with the proposal in this package to increase the tax on certain tobacco products (see section on Revenue Actions below) the overall effectiveness of the State’s efforts to reduce the tobacco use by adults and adolescents will not be impaired.

Now, we can quibble about whether government-funded smoking cessation programs work. Dr. Michael Marlow argues that any link between such cessation programs and lower incidences of smoking is a tenuous one. The National Cancer Policy Board argues they do. I certainly won’t use this space to rail against cuts in government spending on any type of program.

But the Paterson plan proves a point we’ve been making for years: Tobacco tax increases have the express purpose of growing the size of government. Politicians do not care about the supposed health benefits; if they did, they wouldn’t be cutting smoking cessation programs. They care about the revenue. And what better way to ensure government growth continues unchecked than by taxing 20 percent of the population? What incentive is there for a non-smoker to oppose high levels of spending if they are not footing the bill?

This is why smokers and non-smokers alike should oppose tobacco tax increases. It’s nothing more than frivolous politicians gaming the system to raise more money for their politically connected friends and porky special interest spending priorities. The next time a politician says “I hope we raise zero revenue from this bill because it causes everyone to quit smoking,” think back to the situation in New York. Or the other 15 jurisdictions that raised cigarette tax rates in 2009 and didn’t spend a dime of it on smoking prevention.

Lawmakers Being Informed of Expected Tax Windfall Due to Passage of PACT Act

This month, NATO has launched a new strategy in states where lawmakers are proposing to raise cigarette and tobacco product tax rates.  This strategy focuses on educating lawmakers about the tax windfall that all 50 states will receive due to the passage of the federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (also known as the PACT Act).  Currently, states are losing an estimated $1.4 billion a year in state excise taxes and sales taxes on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products sold over the Internet.

However, the regulations under the PACT Act requiring Internet sellers to collect cigarette/smokeless taxes plus sales taxes and remit those taxes to states along with the new regulation prohibiting the delivery of these tobacco products through the U.S. Mail will significantly reduce Internet sales.  Without being able to buy these products at a significantly lower price over the Internet, consumers will revert to buying tobacco products at local stores resulting in the tax windfall to states.

Armed with this information, NATO is sending lawmakers in targeted states a letter informing them about the passage of the PACT Act, the amount of tobacco taxes and sales taxes being lost by states, and an estimate of the size of the tax windfall that their respective state may expect to receive.  In some cases, the size of the expected tax windfall is estimated to be more than the additional revenue the state might collect if the cigarette and/or smokeless tobacco rates were increased.  In other cases, the estimated tax windfall may allow lawmakers to reduce the amount of any proposed tax increase.

So far, NATO has sent letters regarding the imminent PACT Act tax windfall to lawmakers in Kansas ($.55 per pack cigarette tax increase and OTP tax increase from 10% to 40%), Minnesota (taxing little cigars as cigarettes), New Hampshire ($.20 per pack cigarette tax increase), New York ($1.00 per pack cigarette tax increase), and South Carolina ($.50 per pack cigarette tax increase).  A copy of the letters sent by NATO to New York lawmakers and New Hampshire lawmakers as well as a press release issued by U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY) accompany this NATO E-News Bulletin.

Other Legislative News:

Maine: In cooperation with several other trade groups, NATO opposed a Maine bill that sought to ban most flavored cigars.  This effort has led to the Maine legislature passing a bill that allows the sale of premium cigars (those cigars that weigh more than three pounds per 1,000 cigars and wrapped in whole leaf tobacco) and allows the sale of those cigars previously determined by the state attorney general as having no characterizing flavor or otherwise exempt from the ban so long as there is no material change to the cigar’s flavoring, packaging or labeling subsequent to the attorney general’s determination.

Washington State: The Washington state legislature passed tax increases which include a $1.00/pack cigarette tax increase (new rate $3.025/pack), an increase in the OTP rate from 75% to 95% with an increase in the tax cap on cigars from $.50/cigar to $.65/cigar and a weight based tax on moist snuff of $2.526 or 83.05% of the cigarette tax rate for a 1.2 ounce package.  The cigarette and OTP tax increases go into effect on May 1, 2010 and there is no floor stocks tax.  The weight based tax on moist snuff goes into effect on October 1, 2010.

Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 (PACT Act)

1.  The PACT Act applies specifically to cigarettes (defined to include ryo cigarette tobacco) and smokeless tobacco.  Cigars are specifically excluded. The Attorney General of the United States is charged with administering and enforcing the Act, which is effective 90 days after the President signs it into law.

2.  Purposes:

(1) require Internet and other remote sellers of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to comply with the same laws that apply to law-abiding tobacco retailers;

(2) create strong disincentives to illegal smuggling of tobacco products;

(3) provide government enforcement officials with more effective enforcement tools to combat tobacco smuggling;

(4) make it more difficult for cigarette and smokeless tobacco traffickers to engage in and profit from their illegal activities;

(5) increase collections of Federal, State, and local excise taxes on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco; and

(6) prevent and reduce youth access to inexpensive cigarettes and smokeless tobacco through illegal Internet or contraband sales.

3.  The PACT Act amends the Jenkins Act (15 U.S.C. 375), a 1949 federal law requiring those shipping cigarettes into a state to other than a licensed distributor  to first register with the state and then file reports on a monthly basis.  The PACT Act amends the Jenkins Act to:

a.)  Re-define “cigarette” to include ryo cigarette tobacco.  The Act specifically states  “The term `cigarette’ does not include a cigar (as defined in section 5702 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).”

b.)  Broaden coverage to include smokeless tobacco.

c.)  Require reports be filed with state tobacco tax administrators, the Attorney General of the United States, the state attorneys general or chief law enforcement officers of the local Governments, and Indian tribes operating within the borders of the State that impose their own local or tribal taxes on cigarettes or smokeless tobacco.

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d.)  Define “delivery sale” to mean the sale of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to a consumer if the consumer submits the order by means of a telephone, FAX, the mails, or the Internet or the seller is not in the physical presence of the buyer.  Delivery sellers are required to comply with shipping and recordkeeping requirements and all State, local, tribal and other laws generally applicable as if the delivery sale occurred entirely within the specific State and place, including laws imposing—

(A) excise taxes;

(B) licensing and tax-stamping requirements;

(C) restrictions on sales to minors; and

(D) other payment obligations or legal requirements relating to the sale, distribution, or delivery of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco; and

e.)  Require delivery sellers to pay the appropriate state and local excise taxes in advance of the sale or delivery. (Does not apply to a delivery sale of smokeless tobacco if the law of the State or local government where the smokeless tobacco is to be delivered requires  delivery sellers to collect the excise tax from the consumer and remit the excise tax to the State or local government, and the delivery seller complies with that requirement.)

f.)  Impose shipping and packaging requirements:

(1) REQUIRED STATEMENT- For any shipping package containing cigarettes or smokeless tobacco, the delivery seller shall include on the bill of lading, if any, and on the outside of the shipping package, on the same surface as the delivery address, a clear and conspicuous statement providing as follows:

CIGARETTES/SMOKELESS TOBACCO: FEDERAL LAW REQUIRES THE PAYMENT OF ALL APPLICABLE EXCISE TAXES, AND COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LICENSING AND TAX-STAMPING OBLIGATIONS’.

(2) FAILURE TO LABEL- Any shipping package that is not labeled will be treated as nondeliverable matter by a common carrier or other delivery service, if the common carrier or other delivery service knows or should know the package contains cigarettes or smokeless tobacco. If a common carrier or other delivery service believes a package is being submitted for delivery in violation of paragraph (1), it may require the person submitting the package for delivery to establish that it is not being sent in violation of paragraph (1) before accepting the package for delivery. The common carrier or other delivery service is not required to open any package to determine its contents.

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(3) WEIGHT RESTRICTION- A delivery seller shall not sell, offer for sale, deliver, or cause to be delivered in any single sale or single delivery any cigarettes or smokeless tobacco weighing more than 10 pounds.

(4) AGE VERIFICATION-  Delivery sellers cannot sell or deliver tobacco products (cigarettes and smokeless tobacco) to persons under the minimum age.

The delivery seller must use a method of mailing or shipping that requires that the purchaser placing the order or an adult to sign for the delivery contained at the delivery address, and the person who signs to accept delivery must provide proof, in the form of a valid, government-issued identification bearing a photograph of the person, that the person is at least the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products.

The seller shall not accept a deliver sale order from a person without obtaining the person’s full name, birth date, and residential address.  That information must be verified through the use of a commercially available database or aggregate of databases consisting primarily of data from government sources that are regularly used by government and businesses for the purpose of age and identity.

The database being used for age and identity verification must not be in the possession or under the control of the delivery seller.

g.) Require delivery sellers to keep records for four years of their sales organized by State, and within a State, by city or town and by zip code.  They must be available to State tobacco tax administrators, local governments and Indian tribes that apply local or tribal taxes, state attorneys general and the Attorney General of the U.S.

h.)  Require the U.S. Attorney General to compile a list of delivery sellers of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco that have either not registered with the U.S. attorney general or who are not in compliance with the requirements of the PACT Act and distribute that list to the all state attorneys general and every state tax administrator, common carriers and other firms that deliver small packages to consumers in interstate commerce (including the U.S. Postal Service).  He/she must also publicize and make the list available to any other person engaged in the business of interstate and intrastate deliveries.

The U.S. Attorney General is also required to update and distribute the list at least once every 4 months.  Any noncomplying delivery sellers identified by any State,

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local, or tribal government are required to be on the list.  The Attorney General must distribute the list to the state attorneys general, the state tax administrator of any state government submitting any such information, and any common carriers or other persons who deliver small packages to consumers.

PROHIBITION ON DELIVERY:  60 days after distribution of the list, no person who receives it and no person who delivers cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to consumers shall knowingly complete, cause to be completed, or complete its portion of a delivery of any package for any person whose name and address are on the list, unless—

(i) the person making the delivery knows or believes in good faith that the item does not include cigarettes or smokeless tobacco;

(ii) the delivery is made to a person lawfully engaged in the business of manufacturing, distributing, or selling cigarettes or smokeless tobacco; or

(iii) the package being delivered weighs more than 100 pounds and the person making the delivery does not know or have reasonable cause to believe that the package contains cigarettes or smokeless tobacco.

EXEMPTIONS:  The Act pre-empts the states, local government and tribes – or any political authority of 2 or more states, local governments or tribes – from enacting or enforcing their own laws or regulations relating to delivery sales that restrict deliveries of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to consumers by common carrier or other delivery services by

(i) requiring that the common carrier or other delivery service verify the age or identity of the consumer accepting the delivery by requiring the person who signs to accept delivery of the shipping container to provide proof, in the form of a valid, government-issued identification bearing a photograph of the individual, that the person is at least the minimum age required for the legal sale or purchase of tobacco products, as determined by either State or local law at the place of delivery;

(ii) requiring that the common carrier or other delivery service obtain a signature from the consumer accepting the delivery;

(iii) requiring that the common carrier or other delivery service verify that all applicable taxes have been paid;

(iv) requiring that packages delivered by the common carrier or other delivery service contain any particular labels, notice, or markings; or

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(v) prohibiting common carriers or other delivery services from making deliveries on the basis of whether the delivery seller is or is not identified on any list of delivery sellers maintained and distributed by any entity other than the Federal Government.

i)  Impose criminal penalties for violating the Jenkins Act including imprisonment for not more than 3 years, fines or both.  In addition, civil penalties include – the greater of $5,000 for the first violation and $10,000 for any other violation, or for any violation, 2% of the gross sales of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco of the delivery seller during the one-year period ending on the date of the violation.  Penalties also include the payment of any unpaid taxes.

4.  STATE LAWS PROHIBITING DELIVERY SALES: Nothing in the PACT Act or in any other Federal statute shall be construed to preempt, supersede, or otherwise limit or restrict State laws prohibiting delivery sales of cigarettes or other tobacco products to individual consumers or personal residences.

5. In general, cigarettes and smokeless tobacco are prohibited from being deposited in or carried through the mails.  The United States Postal Service

shall not accept for delivery or transmit through the mails any package that it knows or has reasonable cause to believe contains any cigarettes or smokeless

tobacco.  Cigars are specifically excluded from this ban.  The ban will not apply to mailings within the State of Alaska or within the State of Hawaii.

The ban will not apply to tobacco products mailed for business purposes between legally operating businesses that have all the applicable State and Federal government licenses or permits and are engaged in tobacco product manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, export, import, testing, investigation or research.   Nor will it apply for regulatory purposes between such businesses and an agency of the Federal government or a state government.  There are also provisions allowing  individuals to return damaged or unacceptable product to the manufacturer, and for cigarette manufacturers to mail tax paid cigarettes to verified adult smokers solely for business testing purposes, but not into those states which prohibit the delivery of cigarettes to consumers in that state.

The Postmaster General will issue a final rule establishing the standards and requirements pertaining to the ban 180 days after the PACT Act becomes law.

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6.  Enforcement: The US Attorney General is charged with administering and enforcing the PACT Act.  Jurisdiction lies within US District Courts.  State attorneys general and local governments who levy tobacco taxes can bring actions in federal and state courts.  In addition, any  permitted manufacturer or importer of tobacco products may bring action in federal district court to prevent and restrain violations of the PACT Act, though they must inform the US Attorney General of the action.

7.  ATF Inspections:  ATF officers are allowed to enter the premises of cigarette and smokeless tobacco companies during normal business hours for inspection purposes.

8.  Coordination of Law Enforcement:  The PACT Act permits coordinated law enforcement efforts by 1 or more States or other jurisdictions that provide for the administration of tobacco product laws pertaining to interstate sales or other sales of tobacco products and the establishment of cooperative programs for the administration of such laws.

9.  Sense of Congress Concerning the Precedential Effect of the Act:  The Act is “intended to help collect cigarette excise taxes, to stop tobacco sales to underage youth, and to help the States enforce their laws that target the online sales of certain tobacco products only.  This Act is in no way meant to create a precedent regarding the collection of State sales or use taxes by, or the validity of efforts to impose other types of taxes on, out-of-State entities that do not have a physical presence within the taxing State.”

Cigar Association of America

March 18, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343

MEDIA ADVISORY
For Thursday, March 18, 2010

FDA Issues Final Rule Restricting Access and Marketing of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco Products to Youth

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard K. Koh, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg, will hold a press briefing to announce a final rule containing a broad set of federal requirements designed to both curb access to, as well as to reduce the appeal of, cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to children and adolescents in the United States. The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on March 18, 2010, and will become effective on June 22, 2010.

WHO: Kathleen Sebelius, HHS Secretary
Howard K. Koh, M.D., M.P.H., HHS Assistant Secretary for Health
Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., FDA Commissioner

WHEN: Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 1:30 PM EDT.

WHERE: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201