Iowa’s Attorney General says a major tobacco company has agreed to take some steps to fight the illegal sale of cigarettes via the internet. Bob Brammer, a spokesman for the A.G., says Lorillard has reached the agreement with Iowa and 32 other states.
Brammer says Lorillard is not going to sell to their direct customers who sell cigarettes on the internet and also not sell to others who buy cigarettes to sell to those who sell on-line. Brammer says this action will help keep minors from buying smokes on-line. He says many internet sells do a “very poor” or no check at all of people’s ages who’re buying cigarettes on-line.
Brammer says keeping people from buying cigarettes on-line is not easy, and this is one step. Brammer says they’re trying to attack the issue at every stage, from getting the tobacco companies to not ship to on-line sellers, to having the credit card companies not process transactions to buy cigarettes, to delivery companies not delivering cigarettes purchased on-line.
Brammer says state Attorneys General also have asked the U.S. Postal Service to stop delivering cigarettes for internet sellers.