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Cigarette - Internet Library of Law and Court Decisions - Updated January 1, 2002

Court holds that Section 1399-11 of New York's Public Health Law runs afoul of the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, and accordingly permanently enjoins its enforcement. Section 1399-11 prohibits the shipments of cigarettes to consumers in New York. The statute's prohibitions apply to both retailers and common carriers, and effectively preclude the use of the Internet and mail order catalogues as a means of selling cigarettes to New Yorkers. "The statute … thus restrict[s] retail sales of cigarettes in New York to face-to-face transactions at in state retail locations." The Court held that the statute was unconstitutional because it violated the "dormant" aspects of the Commerce Clause, which prohibit States from passing legislation which discriminates against, or unduly burdens, interstate commerce.