Legal

National

Legal Update - January/February 2008
The Legal Update is published by the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, and includes news on recent tobacco litigation and legislative updates from the United States and worldwide.  Key articles in this issue of the Legal Update address “light” cigarette litigation and discuss briefs recently filed in the appeal of United States v. Philip Morris USA.  View the latest edition of the newsletter here.

Technical Assistance Legal Center (TALC)
The TALC has merged with Public Health Law & Policy (PHLP), an organization within the nonprofit Public Health Institute that provides legal and policy research and technical assistance on a wide range of public health issues.  Many resources are now available at the TALC website.  The TALC’s address and contact numbers have changed; click here for the TALC’s new contact information.

Court rubs out Maine law regulating Internet tobacco sales
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Maine’s law that required shipping companies to regulate shipments of internet tobacco sales.  Shipping companies argued that they were overburdened by the costs and legal liability imposed by the responsibility to inspect packages containing tobacco and prevent their delivery to minors.  While the law was intended to keep tobacco products away from minors, the court ruled that the federal government’s shipping laws take precedence over Maine’s state law.  While the ruling was unanimous, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a statement to legislators to become involved in regulating internet tobacco sales to minors.  Click here to learn more about this recent Supreme Court ruling.  Click here to read Maine Attorney General David Rowe’s response, which calls for Congress to take responsibility for regulating internet tobacco sales.

top

Back to Table of Contents