Cigarette chain challenges new tobacco law

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A St. Louis area cigarette chain has filed a legal challenge to a new state law that bans the sale of certain tobacco products produced overseas.

Dirt Cheap Cigarettes and Beer filed a lawsuit Friday in Cole County Circuit Court claiming the law approved earlier this year violates the Missouri Constitution and interstate commerce laws.

The 13-store retail chain objects to portions of the bill regarding so-called "gray market" cigarettes, which are packaged for export and sometimes lack some health warnings that generally appear on packs of cigarettes for domestic sale.

Because the cigarettes for foreign markets are sold at cheaper prices, dealers can undercut the U.S. market rates by bringing the cigarettes back into the United States.

Fred Teutenberg, president of the company, said the law allows large tobacco companies too much control over the distribution and sale of cigarettes.

Teutenberg said the law is unconstitutional because it deals primarily with underage smoking and that gray market cigarettes should not have been included in the bill.

The main portion of the law makes it illegal for minors to buy, try to buy or possess tobacco products -- with potential fines of up to $200 for violators.

The lawsuit asks that the court either to rule against the portion of the law dealing with gray market cigarettes or rule that the entire law should be thrown out.