Court rubs out Maine law regulating Internet tobacco sales

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday tossed out Maine's law taxing the Internet sales of tobacco products, a statute intended to keep cigarettes out of minors' hands by regulating transportation companies.

In a unanimous ruling, the justices concluded the federal government's overall interstate commerce authority trumped the state's public health policing powers. A federal appeals court earlier had found the law unconstitutional.

"Despite the importance of the public health objective, we cannot agree with Maine," said Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the majority. Federal law says "nothing about a public health exception," he noted.

Maine's Legislature passed the law four years ago to prevent underage smokers from secretly ordering cigarettes over the Internet.

The statute placed requirements on private motor carriers such as United Parcel Service and Federal Express to accept packages only from licensed retailers and release them only to someone with proper identification before delivering.

Under the law, carriers were required to inspect every package containing tobacco headed for Maine, facing liability if they negligently or knowingly allowed minors to obtain the products through unlicensed retailers, based on a list from the state attorney general's office.

Shipping firms argued the law cost them time, money and efficiency while increasing their potential liability.

Besides alcohol, Congress would have the power to give states specific product exemptions from interstate commerce, but it chose not to do so, Breyer said Wednesday.

"It's just that if every state does it differently, it's going to be a nightmare," he said during November's arguments in Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Association.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg agreed with her colleagues on the court but urged legislators to get involved quickly to address the health concerns.

She said congressional lawmakers could not have "anticipated the federal measure's facilitation of minors' access to tobacco. Now alerted to the problem, Congress has the capacity to act with care and dispatch to provide an effective solution."

The rise of Internet commerce has created a simple and fast way of buying products, but local governments face a mountain of legal and economic challenges as they seek to regulate tax revenues as well as keep out contraband.

In addition to Maine, 31 other states have cigarette delivery laws intended to curb underage smoking, according to The Associated Press.

Maine argued that smokers often can find cheaper bargains online and that the Web is an even easier outlet for underage teenagers who otherwise would have to present a photo ID at a local store.

More than 500 Web sites sell tobacco products, up from a handful a decade ago, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Some public health officials estimate the number is closer to 800.

A New Jersey study on the Internet showed 400 million packs of cigarettes were sold in 2004, about 2 percent of the cigarettes consumed annually in the United States. An American Medical Association survey found children were able to buy tobacco online as much as 90 percent of the time.

The shipping industry countered that Maine's law put the onus of responsibility too much on them to ensure youngsters did not get tobacco. They said online vendors often were lax in verifying age at the time of a purchase.

The Bush administration backed the transport trade association. E-mail to a friend

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