[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 106 (Thursday, August 3, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S8829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS:
  S. 3816. A bill to prohibit the shipment of tobacco products in the 
mail, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
that will help crack down on illegal sales of tobacco to underaged 
young people by banning the shipment of cigarettes and other tobacco 
products through the U.S. mail. Not only does the delivery of 
cigarettes and other tobacco products through the mail create 
opportunities for tax evasion, but it also creates an easy means 
through which children and young people can obtain these potentially 
deadly products.
  Tobacco remains the No. 1 preventable cause of death in the United 
States today, accounting for more than 400,000 deaths a year and 
billions of dollars in health care costs. Moreover, tobacco addiction 
is a ``teen-onset'' disease: Ninety percent of all smokers start before 
they are 21. If we are to put an end to this tragic, yet preventable, 
epidemic, we must accelerate our efforts not only to help more smokers 
to quit, but also to discourage young people from ever lighting up in 
the first place.
  Internet sales of tobacco are growing and growing fast. 
Unfortunately, effective safeguards against illegal sales to young 
people are virtually nonexistent on the more than 400 Web sites selling 
tobacco, making it easier and cheaper for kids to buy cigarettes.
  A 2002 American Journal of Public Health study found that 20 percent 
of cigarette-selling Web sites do not say anything about sales to 
minors being prohibited. More than half require only that the buyer say 
they are of legal age. Another 15 percent require only that the buyer 
type in their date of birth, and only 7 percent require any driver's 
license information.
  It is no wonder that Internet ``stings'' conducted by attorneys 
general in at least 15 States have found that children as young as 9 
years old are able to purchase cigarettes easily. One study in The 
Journal of the American Medical Association reported that kids as young 
as 11 were successful more than 90 percent of the time in purchasing 
cigarettes over the Internet. Moreover, since Internet cigarette 
vendors typically require a two-carton minimum purchase, many high 
school and middle school buyers of Internet tobacco also end up serving 
as suppliers of cigarettes to other kids.
  In an effort to combat this problem, all of the major credit card 
companies have taken steps to ensure that their systems are not used to 
process payments for illegal cigarette sales. Moreover, all of the 
major commercial carriers--UPS, DHL and FedEx--have agreed to put a 
stop to the mail order sale and delivery of tobacco products. This 
leaves our U.S. Postal Service as the sole remaining courier for the 
delivery of tobacco products to minors. I believe that it is time for 
us to close this final delivery gap so that cigarettes and other 
tobacco products are not so easily accessible to our Nation's children.
  The Postal Code already makes it illegal to mail alcoholic beverages 
and guns. The legislation I am introducing today will amend title 39 of 
the United States Code to add cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to the 
list of restricted, nonmailable matter. Any person found guilty of 
mailing such a product would be liable for a civil penalty of up to 
$5,000 or 10 times the estimated retail value of the tobacco products, 
including all Federal, State, and local taxes, whichever is highest, 
for a first violation. Civil penalties of up to $100,000 would be 
imposed for a second or each subsequent violation.
  Mr. President, the U.S. Postal Service should not be the delivery 
agent for illegal cigarette traffickers. The legislation I am 
introducing today will close a loophole that has allowed Internet and 
mail order companies to circumvent the law, and I urge my colleagues to 
support this reform.
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