Summary of Bills Pertaining to
Internet Tobacco Sales and Ads
in the 106th Congress

This page summarizes the following bills:

• HR 2914, the Tobacco Free Internet for Kids Act (Meehan).
• HR 3007, the Internet Cigarette Warning Label Act (Meehan).

HR 2914, the Tobacco Free Internet for Kids Act

Sponsor. Rep. Marty Meehan (D-MA). Original cosponsor. James Hansen (R-UT).

Summary. HR 2914 IH would ban the sale of tobacco products to minors over the Internet, and give the states the power to enforce it in federal courts.

The basic prohibition of the bill states:

"No person shall make a sale of tobacco products to an individual under the age of 18 using the Internet or the Postal Service or other carrier and no person shall ship in interstate commerce tobacco products which have been so sold."

Much of the language of the bill is taken from HR 2031, the Twenty-First Amendment Enforcement Act, which passed the House on August 3, 1999. HR 2031 is aimed in part at stemming the sale of alcohol to minors over the Internet. Both bills give state attorneys general the power to obtain injunctions against violators in federal district court.

HR 2914 would provide that if a state's "attorney general has reasonable cause to believe that a person is engaged in, or has engaged in, any act involving the sale or shipment of tobacco products ... the attorney general may bring a civil action in accordance with this section for injunctive relief (including a preliminary or permanent injunction or other order) against the person ..." [Parentheses in original.]

Status. This bill was introduced on September 22, 1999, and referred to the House Commerce Committee.

Legislative History with Links to Related Materials.

• 9/22/99. HR 2914 IH introduced in the House. See, Tech Law Journal story.
• 9/22/99. HR 2914 referred to the House Commerce Committee.
• 10/8/99. HR 2914 referred to the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

HR 3007, the Internet Cigarette Warning Label Act

Sponsor. Rep. Marty Meehan (D-MA). Original cosponsor. James Hansen (R-UT).

Summary. HR 3007 IH is a short and simple bill to extend to the Internet the requirement that warning labels be placed on cigarettes. The bill provides that:

"It shall be unlawful for any manufacturer, importer, or retailer of cigarettes to sell or advertise cigarettes through the Internet unless the cigarette packages of the cigarettes so sold and the image used on the Internet in the sale or advertising of the cigarettes contain the warning labels required by section 4(a)(1) of the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (15 U.S.C. 1333(a)(1))."

The bill would also require the Federal Trade Commission to promulgate regulations regarding the "manner the warning labels shall appear on the Internet so as to be conspicuous."

Status. This bill was introduced on October 4, 1999, and referred to the House Commerce Committee.

Legislative History with Links to Related Materials.

• 10/4/99. HR 3007 IH introduced in the House.
• 10/4/99. HR 3007 referred to the House Commerce Committee.
• 10/19/99. HR 3007 referred to the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection.