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Jump to full article: Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, 2008-03-01
Intro: Opponents of tobacco control policies often argue
that smokers have a special, constitutionally protected
right to smoke. To debunk this notion, the Legal
Consortium has updated and revised its popular
2005 publication, “There is No Constitutional Right to
Smoke.” . . .
States Powerless to Control Online Cigarette Sales to Minors, Supreme Court Says
On February 20, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned the State
of Maine’s attempt to control the online sale of cigarettes to minors by regulating
the delivery of tobacco products. . . .
As reported in our August 2007 Legal Update, the Legal Consortium filed an amicus brief, arguing on behalf of many
health and advocacy organizations that Maine’s law was a legitimate exercise of a state’s police powers. In a concurring
opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg urged Congress to remedy the regulatory gap created by the Court’s decision, and
quoted the Legal Consortium’s brief, written by Kathleen Dachille, director of the Legal Consortium’s Maryland affiliate:
“As cyberspace acts as a risk-free zone where minors can anonymously purchase tobacco, unrestricted online tobacco sales
create a major barrier to comprehensive youth tobacco control.” Unfortunately, the Court’s decision has created just such a
barrier, and leaves the protection of America’s minors to a Congress with a record of indifference to most tobacco-related
problems.
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