FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, April 8, 2008, CONTACT: Wyeth Ruthven, 202-225-4865 

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.