(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has joined attorneys general from 40 states and the District of Columbia in filing a brief with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals defending the constitutionality of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act.
“The PACT Act is an important tool for Ohio to enforce its cigarette sales laws and prevent underage tobacco use,” said Attorney General DeWine. “I am glad to join an overwhelming number of attorneys general in filing this brief supporting the PACT Act’s constitutionality.”
The attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the case Gordon v. Holder. The attorneys general are advocating reversal of a lower court opinion preliminarily enjoining the PACT Act’s provisions.
The PACT Act was passed and enacted in 2010, and similar federal laws reinforcing compliance with state tobacco laws have been in effect for more than 60 years. Among other provisions, the Pact Act requires internet or mail-order cigarette retailers to sell only cigarettes for which the tax of the state and locality of delivery has been paid in advance, and to comply with laws of the destination state or locality restricting sales of cigarettes to persons below a statutory minimum age.
“States have an obvious interest in enforcing all of their laws, and they have a particularly strong interest in enforcing the laws relating to the sale of cigarettes,” the attorneys general wrote in the brief. “Before the enactment of the PACT Act, states faced enormous obstacles to the enforcement of their laws taxing and regulating the sale of cigarettes, and vast numbers of cigarettes were sold in violation of state law.”
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Documents
Gordon v. Holder Amicus Brief (PDF)
Media Contacts
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Lisa Hackley: 614-466-3840