WASHINGTON, March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco today praised the U.S. Senate for passing S. 1147, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act of 2009. Sponsored by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 20 senators, this legislation will help combat online cigarette sales that have robbed hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues from the states and that undermine state laws that prevent youth access to tobacco products.

"Passage of the PACT Act is a huge victory for American taxpayers, American small business owners and America's youth," said Scott Ramminger, AWMA president and CEO and coalition spokesperson. "We applaud the Senate for its action today and thank Sen. Kohl for his leadership in ensuring that contraband tobacco sales are eliminated."

Numerous stakeholders have worked with Sen. Kohl through the years to pass the PACT Act, which was passed in the House of Representatives last May. The PACT Act closes gaps in current federal laws regulating "remote" or "delivery" sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.

"In a recent study we found that illegal cigarette sales cost states $5 billion per year, and that with online sales there is almost no age verification at the time of purchase," continued Ramminger.

"We hope the House will pass this bill quickly and that President Obama will act swiftly to sign this common sense legislation into law so that we can put an end to the illegal sale of tobacco products," conclude Ramminger.

The Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco is a group of individuals, associations, businesses and other organizations that share the goal of enacting legislation that will eliminate underage access to tobacco on the Internet, curtail associated illegal activities and capture lost state excise tax revenues.

SOURCE Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco