2 ms·
For most of the time these laws have been in place--since the late 1800s--you had to buy alcohol and tobacco in person. You couldn't bypass the law through shad
by rayiner 5mo ago
For most of the time these laws have been in place--since the late 1800s--you had to buy alcohol and tobacco in person. You couldn't bypass the law through shady Internet dealers.
- mothballed 5mo agoMail order tobacco has been a thing since practically the mail existed. https://www.periodpaper.com/cdn/shop/products/EM2_315_1200x1200.jpg?v=1571713525 https://www.periodpaper.com/cdn/shop/products/EM2_315_1200x1... The last time I ordered some tobacco a major, non-shady, licensed vendor literally had USPS pick it up and drop it straight in my mailbox.
- rayiner 5mo agoMail order back then involved checks or money orders, which minors would not have had easy access to, or cash on delivery, which would have involved an interaction with a postal deliveryman. Moreover, the point of these laws isn't to prevent any particular illegal sale. It's to eliminate the market and reduce the volume. In-person, cash transactions are difficult for parents to track. But most kids aren't going to risk their parents finding credit card charges from mail-order alcohol and tobacco vendors. If a large fraction of kids were actually using that loophole, then enforcement of those laws would be a higher priority, like it is with in-person sales. Product bans do, in fact, work. For example, sports betting has skyrocketed since the Supreme Court overturned a ban on online gambling: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2026/01/sports-betting-worries-grow-as-wagers-skyrocket https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2026/01/sports-bettin....