Protect children from cigarettes online

According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, about 90 percent of adult smokers begin smoking in their teens are earlier. While there have been efforts by the federal government and many state governments to curb unlawful access to tobacco products by minors, there is one huge hole in these efforts. Effective safeguards against minors purchasing cigarettes by the Internet are almost non-existent.

A Journal of American Medicine study found that more than 96 percent of minors ages 15 to 16 were able to find an Internet cigarette vendor and place an order in less than 25 minutes, with most completing the order in seven minutes. Internet stings conducted by attorneys general across the country have found that children as young as 9 years old were able to purchase cigarettes easily on the Internet. This access puts our children at risk to begin an addiction that is difficult to break.

On May 21, the U.S. House of Representatives, by an overwhelming margin passed the Prevent All Cigarettes Trafficking Act of 2009 (PACT Act), which deals with regulations of Internet sales of cigarettes. The Senate needs to do the same.

I urge all of you to contact Sens. Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin of Iowa and ask them to support the PACT Act.

Michael Mahaffey

Montezuma