Supreme Court To Weigh In On State Laws Regulating Online Cigarette Sales
from the legal-or-not? dept
For years, there have been lawsuits over state regulations that ban the sale of certain products from “unregistered” vendors outside of the state in question. The products regulated are often things like wine, contact lenses and cigarettes — with the state often arguing that the laws are there to protect minors from getting easy access to potentially troublesome products. However, online sellers of those products argue that it’s really just the state trying to keep a limited monopoly on sellers to protect local businesses from outside competition — and that they take the safety issue very seriously and already protect children from getting access to these products. Some courts have ruled against the states (and in favor of the commerce clause of the constitution), while others have ruled in favor of the regulations. The Supreme Court ruled against the states two years ago — but in a limited way. It said, effectively, that states could not ban shipments from out of state if it allowed shipments within the state. However, it could ban all such shipments. Apparently that didn’t clear up enough, as the Supreme Court has now agreed to hear a different, but somewhat similar case, dealing with Maine’s law preventing online sales of cigarettes, which claims that shipping companies need to carefully inspect any package that has tobacco in it before delivery — which the shippers claim violates federal laws, saying the states can’t force laws on shipping companies.
Comments on “Supreme Court To Weigh In On State Laws Regulating Online Cigarette Sales”
if its an age issue don’t credit card resolve that?
cigarettes have to be imported at some time in order to be available in said state so whats the difference?
i'm a smoker and tired of eating the crap
just outlaw smoking and end it. the first step is for the government to give up the taxes.
and i am more anti-alcohol than most are anti-smoking. that should be next. actually, that should be at least equal to tobacco.
then focus can go towards the earned income credit. after a person reaches zero tax, the money over that should go to the school districts.
Re: i'm a smoker and tired of eating the crap
Are you KIDDING me?!?! Outlaw smoking? Smoking is great. I LOVE smoking. Why? Because it weeds out the idiots and strengthens the gene pool.
With all the information we have nowadays that smoking WILL KILL YOU, if people still want to smoke, then I’m all for it. It reduces the number or morons in the world.
Re: Re: i'm a smoker and tired of eating the crap
Pay for my health insurance and love the fact that I smoke.
Re: i'm a smoker and tired of eating the crap
I’m typically not this blunt, but you are a moron.
The health consequences of cigarette smoking vs drinking are not even comparable. Smoking can cause cancer and ultimately kill you. What can alcohol do? Make you pass out because you drink too much?
Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely people who over-do it, and anyone who gets on the road should certainly be punished. But talking about a ban on alcohol, that’s just moronic.
wow, anti smokeing… that will never work it will work less than the prohibition of alcohol… lets look on an economic rule…
As long as there is a demand there will be someone to supply the product, if there is money to be made…
im 17 iv tryed smoking a cupple of times, dont get why people do it, it dosent make you feel any better, dident calm me down when i was pissed, and it made me choke… but i dont care if people smoke…
as far as weed goes i think it should be legal just like alcohol tho if its in your system and your driving then you should get a DUI of some sort… or public intox ect…
if people want to kill themselfs let them…
Im 15 and have a debit card, which cna double as a credit card with my bank, and I can buy anything I want online with it. So, it’s a real big age issue
kids are given too much too soon
the problem isn’t with children, but the supposed adults who are parents
my daughter, who is now 30, never had a chance to take any cigs from me, alcohol wasn’t allowed in my house [still isn’t]
i “served” my time and am not willing to take responsibility for others’ children, nor am i willing to give my wants for them.
now before anyone flames me, i would not stand by and let anyone else give a cig to a kid, nor would i stand by and let a teen buy any.
if a teen gets caught drinking, in my state, they lose the right to drive. same should apply to smoking, cigs or weed.
along with rights come responsibility. the same is with parenthood.
your parents allow you to have a debit card ? you break the law, they should pay, as well as you.
Banning things???
Banning things???
I don’t understand why so many people are for banning everything, If anything I think the legal drinking age should be lowered to 16 and driving upped to 18 at least.
That way people aren’t going crazy to be rebellious and drink, instead they will be used to being able to easily obtain it.
Also, I don’t understand the reasoning behind marijuana being illegal, its somewhat rediculous to me, like banning tomatos… how the hell can you ban a plant?
Anyways, the problem is the fact that people make such a big deal about this stuff, and that makes it inticeing for kids to do.
YouKnowNothing
know this much: you will pay dearly for my being an idiot.
you represent the gene pool: time to erase it.
i'm not a moron
i'm not a moron...pissed is more like it
i watched alcohol destroy many lives
i watched it kill my parents marriage, all dad would have had to do was quit drinking..he wasn’t an alcoholic, he only drank beer
how many times did he drink away his paycheck ??
as a non-drinker, i have been dumped on because i am not willing to volunteer to be a “designated driver”. stay home. problem solved.
i live close to a bar. a club actually. the local police wont ask me to allow a car to be parked on my property, only because i only agree to it long enough for a tow truck to come get it.
Pah!
All this anti-smoking sentiment has got me a bit riled…
I am a smoker, and though i have tried to give up in the past, i largely enjoy my habit.
Some of the loudmouth comments have got to me , and i would like to clarify with some actual facts…
50% of people who smoke 20 cigarettes a day or more will have an early death caused by smoking ~ This is a high figure, but according to some other posts everyone who has ever touched a cigarette will die within 5 years and rot in hell for it!
Stress related illnesses are far less common in smokers, According to a MORI poll in the UK smokers were 67% less likely to suffer from stress related ilnesses, including depression.
now anti smokers, flame away,
It's a tax thing
The state of Michigan won’t “allow” online tobacco sales because they can’t collect the exorbitant taxes they apply to cigarette sales. They even went so far as to coerce the sellers to pony up names and addresses of their customers and promptly sent tax bills to the residents. One woman was hit with an immediate demand for almost $20,000.00.
Plus, it’s just stupid to rally against second hand smoke and never consider that so many other airborne evils like diesel fumes, for example, are far more prevalent and do much more damage than the smokiest bar or bingo hall in the world.
On another note, I’m typically against bans of any sort but I’m with glitch; alcohol is evil and I’d love to see it banned. An added bonus would be watching all the “social drinkers” treated like the addicted degenerates they really are. People can spend decades in prison for possession of weed but a “social drinker” can kill my child and be out in a few years.
Anyone who thinks alcohol is harmless is a friggin’ idiot.
Re: It's a tax thing
I live in Pa and I smoke.I would like to know why there never seems to be any focus on drinkers? you know those people who sit belly up to a bar for 8hrs and then get into a car and drive drunk killing anyone in their way.
Yes I smoke but I am only hurting myself.I would also like to know if the people who went out of state and bought alchol and brought it back across state lines will be getting a letter in their mail telling them they owe back taxs on that alcohol?
I think the reason all of the focus is on smokers and not drinkers is becasue alot of out elected people in office are drinkers. I wonder how many people in our gov has gone out of state and brought back alcohol and never paid taxs on it?
Its time to go after the drunks and leave us smokers alone. And why is it ok to advertise beer on Tv and liquor but yet advertisments were ban from smoking.I guess we are telling our young people its ok to get drunk and go out there and drive and kill people,just as long as you dont light up a smoke.
I am a tax payer and a voter,I just got done paying a $2,200 dollar school tax and I dont even have kids,I also pay property tax,income tax.so I have rights .
Also if the revenue people knew these cigarette taxs were due 2 years ago why did they wait until 2years later to send out their letters telling people they owe thousands of $.
I am waiting to hear from some drinker who said they received their letter in the mail for back taxs.
And someone said drinking does not harm you> ? are you kidding me? ever hear of cancer of the liver??
If I was out on the road and saw a car coming in my direction I would much rather see that person smoking a cigarette then drinking a bottle of beer.
Enough is enough, leave the smokers alone,increase the tax on alcohol for a change.
whew..i thought i was alone here
PA is considering a $14.50 tax on a carton of cigss, and comporable to cigars and smokeless stuff.
how about at similar tax on say..a case of beer, a fifth of whatever.
i can think of a billion+ reasons why PA won’t outlaw cigs. Just add a dollar sign to that figure.
smoking
I smoke and hate it except when i am drinking. Smoking is an aweful, addictive source of pleasure. The public in the U.S. will not be able to do anything concerning cigarettes, they will never be diminished they always will be here in the U.S. Hate it or love it the underdog is on top