Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) recently reintroduced the Smuggled Tobacco Prevention Act or STOP Act, legislation that includes a provision to require tobacco products to have a “unique identification marking” in order for law enforcement to better track and trace the products.  

These bills, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 3186) and the U.S. Senate (S 1706) respectively, have been referred to the committees of jurisdiction – the Ways and Means Committee in the House and the Finance Committee in the Senate – with no action to date.

AWMA has opposed this legislative initiative maintaining that we just recently enacted legislation addressing illegal trafficking of cigarettes and smokeless through the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT).  We are concerned over the provision of the STOP Act calling for track and trace measures and calling for a mandatory “unique identification marking” for purposes of tracking.  

In a recent Los Angeles Times article it was noted that AWMA “expressed concerns about last year’s similar legislation saying ‘who would be responsible for the costs associated with the adoptions of the federal digital stamp’ and ‘the potential for new and burdensome reporting and record-keeping requirements.’”  READ MORE