From: SMOKEFREE@compuserve.com
Date: Tue, 04/08/08
U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett issued the following today.
To reduce/prevent cigarette smuggling, please urge your U.S. Representative
to cosponsor H.R. 5689.
To contact your Representative, go to
https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml
For a copy of the legislation, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and type in HR
5689.
Bill Godshall
Smokefree Pennsylvania
- - -
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, April 8, 2008
CONTACT: Wyeth Ruthven, 202-225-4865
Rep. Doggett Introduces Bill to Crack Down on Tobacco Smuggling
Washington, DC - Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) has introduced H.R.
5689, the Smuggled Tobacco Prevention (STOP) Act, to enhance the ability
of law enforcement to prevent illegal diversions of tobacco products and
to identify and punish smugglers. H.R. 5689 will be considered before
the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the House
Judiciary Committee at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, April 15.
"Tobacco products are the single largest, illegally trafficked, legal
product on the planet," said Congressman Doggett, a senior member of the
House Ways and Means Committee to which H.R. 5689 has also been
referred. "Stopping smuggled tobacco, whether sold here or shipped
across our borders to poison someone else's children on the black
market, will improve public health, collect needed revenues, and curb a
source of funding for organized crime and terrorists," Doggett added.
This legislation also counters smuggling concerns raised by critics of
increasing tobacco taxes to pay for initiatives such as improvements in
the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). "It is false
choice to claim we must decide between raising cigarette tax revenues
and reducing tobacco smuggling. If our law enforcement officers have
appropriate tools, we can accomplish both," said Rep Doggett. "We should
not shield the smuggler and suffer the children."
The STOP Act would improve tracking of these products with new labeling
and reporting requirements. The Federation of Tax Administrators
states, "We believe this Act will significantly reduce the smuggling of
U.S. tobacco products and aid in the enforcement of state tobacco tax
requirements across the country."
The STOP Act requires that packages of tobacco products manufactured
here or imported to the U.S. also be uniquely marked with a federal
high-tech stamp, applied during the manufacturing process, similar to
that which the State of California is already using and which Canada
will soon implement. The stamp will contain encrypted information
readable by a portable scanner, enabling enforcement officials to
distinguish real tax stamps from even the most advanced counterfeits,
identify who stamped and initially sold the product, and obtain other
information useful for tracking, tracing, and enforcement purposes.
"The industry has been able to trace their cigarettes to the
manufacturing location for many years. It is time that this information
be made readily accessible for law enforcement," said Rep. Doggett.
The STOP Act also amends the Internal Revenue Code to require all
packages of tobacco products for export be clearly labeled for export to
prevent illegal reentry into the U.S. The bill also bans the sale of
manufacturing equipment to unlicensed persons to prevent the illegal use
of tobacco product manufacturing machinery and to address the serious
and growing problem of illegal manufacturing. Congressman Doggett's
bill would also increase penalties for smuggling for all types of
tobacco products.
"Tax-free" black-market tobacco is sold at lower prices, increasing
consumption and tobacco-related illness. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), tobacco is the second major cause of death in the
world, currently responsible for the death of one in ten adults
worldwide. Tobacco kills 5.4 million people annually, more than
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. By 2020, tobacco-related
disease is to kill 10 million people a year, with 70 percent of those
deaths occurring in developing countries.
In February, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control began to
negotiate international measures to address the illicit trade of
tobacco. While the Bush Administration signed the treaty in 2004, the
United States could not participate in negotiations because the treaty
has never been submitted for Senate ratification.
The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids calls the STOP Act a "sensible public
health and law enforcement approach to minimizing contraband tobacco
product trafficking that will improve America's standing in the
international community."
Congressman Doggett's legislation is cosponsored by 104 Members of the
House of Representatives and endorsed by the Campaign for Tobacco Free
Kids, the American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, American
Heart Association, Corporate Accountability International, Essential
Action, and the Federation of Tax Administrators.
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