Online Tobacco Sites Sued by NY Attorney General

The attorney general claims six Internet sites violate state law forbidding the online sale of tobacco products to New York residents.

February 07, 2011

MINEOLA, N.Y. - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a lawsuit against the operators of six websites that sell tobacco products, the Associated Press reports. Schneiderman alleges that the sites are in violation of a New York law that prohibits the online sale of tobacco products to state residents.

The lawsuits, filed in state Supreme Court, ask for an injunction against the companies to stop future sales, as well as a fine of $5,000 per violation. Schneiderman said the goal of the suits is to halt shipments.

New York, along with Washington, Vermont, Ohio, Maryland and Connecticut, ban tobacco sales online to residents. New York also has a requirement that any cigarette shipments must be to a licensed wholesaler or cigarette tax agent.

"As one of my colleagues said recently, the Internet really is the crime scene of the 21st century," said Schneiderman. He said online cigarette sales is "one of the primary methods of evasion of every effort we??re making in the state of New York and in the country to reduce the national tragedy of tobacco addiction."

The attorney general pointed out that websites don??t verify age very well and can sell cigarettes much cheaper to smokers, including underage smokers. New York charges $4.35 in sales and other taxes per cigarette pack, which is around 50 percent of the total cost consumers pay.

Schneiderman also said that many online tobacco transactions fail to collect sales tax. In 2004, the state lost between $106 million and $122 million in sales tax revenue because of uncollected online cigarette sales taxes, according to the New York Health Department.

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