Cigarettes to be banned from U.S. mail

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The Post Office will shut down one of the main ways kids can get cigarettes and distributors can dodge taxes this month.

As of June 29, the U.S. Postal Service will stop accepting and carrying packages containing cigarettes or smokeless tobacco, the agency said yesterday in its latest internal bulletin.

It is taking the move to implement a new federal law meant to crack down on illegal trafficking in cigarettes.

The agency’s new rules about tobacco say it can refuse to accept packages if it has reasonable cause to believe they contain cigarettes or smokeless tobacco — for instance, if the packages are shipped by companies or people with websites promising to mail cigarettes, smokeless tobacco or loose tobacco for roll-your-own cigarettes.

The rules apply to international shipments as well as those from within the United States. They do not apply to cigars.

“Internet sales of cigarettes is a problem because they can sell to kids and they evade taxes,“ said Eric Lindblom, director of public policy research at the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. “The Post Office was the No. 1 way illegal Internet sellers deliver cigarettes.“

Major package delivery firms, such as FedEx, UPS and DHL, will not ship cigarettes, under agreements reached with state attorneys general seeking to enforce laws banning sale of tobacco to minors.

“These new requirements will put an end to tax-evading online sales and impose rigorous age verification requirements for remote sellers of these products,“ said David Sutton, a spokesman for Altria Group Inc., the Henrico county-based tobacco giant.

He said Altria supported the new law, adding “it will help states recover millions of dollars in tax revenues they are losing to tax-evading online sales, help ensure that kids cannot purchase tobacco products online and help combat illegal activity associated with the sale and distribution of tax-evading tobacco products.“

Convenience store operators and law enforcement agencies also supported the law.

The new law does allow some exceptions; for instance a smoker can return defective cigarettes to manufacturers for a refund, or small amounts can be mailed as gifts.

But the Post Office said all such deliveries will be made face to face, and the recipient must show proof of age. Such shipments are limited to 10 ounces and no more than 10 a month.

There are also exceptions allowing licensed tobacco manufacturers, wholesalers, test-laboratories and government agencies to mail cigarettes for business or regulatory purposes, if they win permission from the Post Office. It also allows for cigarettes or smokeless to be mailed within Alaska and Hawaii.