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Attorney
General Mike DeWine...
Constitutionality
of Federal Cigarette Trafficking Law
June 14, 2012
(COLUMBUS,
Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has joined attorneys general
from 40
states and the District of Columbia in filing a brief with the District
of
Columbia Court of Appeals defending the constitutionality of the
Prevent All
Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act.
“The PACT
Act is an important tool for Ohio to enforce its cigarette sales laws
and
prevent underage tobacco use,” said Attorney General DeWine. “I am glad
to join
an overwhelming number of attorneys general in filing this brief
supporting the
PACT Act’s constitutionality.”
The
attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the case Gordon v. Holder.
The
attorneys general are advocating reversal of a lower court opinion
preliminarily enjoining the PACT Act’s provisions.
The PACT
Act was passed and enacted in 2010, and similar federal laws
reinforcing
compliance with state tobacco laws have been in effect for more than 60
years. Among
other provisions, the Pact Act requires internet or mail-order
cigarette
retailers to sell only cigarettes for which the tax of the state and
locality
of delivery has been paid in advance, and to comply with laws of the
destination state or locality restricting sales of cigarettes to
persons below
a statutory minimum age.
“States
have an obvious interest in enforcing all of their laws, and they have
a
particularly strong interest in enforcing the laws relating to the sale
of
cigarettes,” the attorneys general wrote in the brief. “Before the
enactment of
the PACT Act, states faced enormous obstacles to the enforcement of
their laws
taxing and regulating the sale of cigarettes, and vast numbers of
cigarettes
were sold in violation of state law.”
A copy of the brief is available on the
Ohio Attorney General’s website.
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