Concern about the potential for significant tobacco smuggling into the United States has been high throughout the tobacco policy debate in Congress. What has been largely overlooked is that the United States, due to lax oversight of its massive cigarette exports, is fueling an international black market that creates law enforcement, revenue and public health problems worldwide.

Researchers estimate that about one-third of all cigarette exports disappear into the black market. U.S. brands such as Marlboro, Camel, Winston and Kent are the most commonly smuggled.

Ultimately, international agreements are needed to sharply reduce smuggling rates. In the meantime, however, there are significant steps the U.S. can and should take unilaterally.

U.S. Law Can Help

A proposal incorporated in several tobacco bills would address tobacco smuggling into and out of the United States by providing appropriate authority to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF). BATF may be authorized to:

• License all exporters and require appropriate record-keeping;
• Require exporters to post bonds on cigarette shipments that can only be released after the cigarettes reach their final destination; and,
• Require tobacco products sold on U.S. military bases and Indian reservations to be specially marked.

This proposal draws from experience controlling contraband in alcohol and other products, and from international experience controlling cigarette smuggling. It provides appropriate authority to BATF to issue regulations to take advantage of new inform ation and new technologies as they evolve.

This proposal makes good sense as a matter of law enforcement and health policy.