Cigarette company agreement seeks to halt Internet sales

Philip Morris USA has agreed to protocols to reduce illegal sales of the company's cigarettes over the Internet and through the mails, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced jointly Thursday with 36 other attorneys general.

The legal officials said Philip Morris has agreed to cut off shipments of cigarettes to any direct customers that the attorneys general find have engaged in illegal Internet or mail order sales.

The company also said it would suspend from any incentive programs retailers found to be engaged in illegal sales and to reduce the amount of product made available to direct customers found by the attorneys general to be engaged in the illegal re-sale of Philip Morris cigarettes.

Denise Keane, Philip Morris USA executive vice president and general counsel, said the agreement builds on existing company policies aimed at preserving the "integrity of our brands and the legitimate trade channels through which they are sold." "It sets a framework for continued information sharing with law enforcement and support of their efforts to eliminate illegal sales of Philip Morris USA products," Keane said.

Spitzer and the other attorneys general said they agree that the Internet sale of cigarettes is illegal because sellers are invariably violating one or several state or federal laws.