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Home > What's New > Congress Considers Prohibiting Cigar Sales by Mail
Congress Considers Prohibiting Cigar Sales by Mail
Posted: Thursday, January 22, 2004
By Mark Weissenberger
A bill before the U.S. House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee could outlaw the shipping of cigars through the U.S. mail. The Senate has already passed its version of the legislation, and major cigar retailers and the Cigar Association of America are lobbying to keep it from being passed.
The bill, known as the Internet Tobacco Sales Enforcement Act, or HR 2824, went to the House Judiciary Committee after the passage of the Senate's Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, or S. 1177 in December. Championed by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) in June, the PACT Act was introduced to prevent cigarette smuggling and ensure the proper collection of cigarette taxes. The bill was changed in its final stages when it was expanded to include all tobacco products -- including cigars -- and would prohibit the shipment of all tobacco products through the U.S. mail. With the passage of S. 1177, a similar bill was brought forward to the House Judiciary Committee -- HR 2824.
Yesterday, HR 2824 was scheduled for markup, when a bill is put into final form. The House bill does not include cigars -- yet -- but mail-order cigar retailers and their customers are worried that cigars will be added to the legislation, mirroring the Senate's language.
"This bill is 99.9 percent about counterfeit cigarettes. Cigars just got thrown in at the last minute," wrote Lew Rothman, president of JR Cigars, on Cigar Aficionado Online. JR, which is majority-owned by Spain's Altadis S.A., is the world's largest mail-order cigar retailer. "HR 2824 does not presently contain the "cigar" and "all tobacco products" language contained in the Senate bill that already passed," wrote Rothman. "We have been contacting everyone in the mail-order cigar business to notify their customers about the upcoming House Bill and the various other anti-tobacco bills in Indiana, Maryland, Washington, Oregon, Maine, Nevada, etc."
HR 2824 is a revision of the Jenkins Act, which was created in 1949 to assist in the collection of taxes on interstate tobacco product sales. The new legislation, sponsored by Reps. Mark Green (R-Wis.) and Marty Meehan (D-Mass.), would ensure that Internet tobacco sellers pay the same taxes that retail shops do. The bill, if expanded as feared, would force manufacturers, retailers and customers to rely on private air couriers and trucking companies for shipping and receiving cigars within the continental United States. Hawaii and Alaska would be exempt.
"The Jenkins Act, passed in the late '40s, is perceived [now] as not having teeth," said Norman Sharp, president of the Cigar Association of America. "This legislation will give it teeth. [The potential] is very threatening and we're quite concerned right now. The U.S Postal Service is crucial because delivery services do not deliver to post office boxes."
Every state has different shipping regulations, according to Sharp. The use of some couriers may be hindered by company regulations, such as those companies that require a personal signature from the recipient to whom a package is addressed.
HR 2824 was supposed to be reviewed by the Judicial Committee yesterday, but the review was postponed until January 28 for markup. At that time cigars may or may not be added to the language of the bill. If passed by the committee, the legislation could be voted on by the full House of Representatives at the end of February. Following that, a conference committee would vote on the final legislation agreed upon by the Senate and House.
As the news spread about the potential legislation that potentially could handcuff cigar smokers' options for buying cigars, they have written to Cigar Aficionado about the potential fallout. "This [news about HR 2824] raised a red flag for me, seeing as I am about 80 miles from a decent tobacco shop and acquire most of my cigars through the mail order business," reported Ben Hogston of Muskegon, Michigan. "First the smoking bans; now this. When will it stop?"
Mark Unruh of San Jose, California, said, "Since discovering mail order service five years ago, I've increased my consumption from two or three cigars a month to two or three a week. If mail-order becomes illegal, the high prices of my local cigar shop will force me back to two or three a month."
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