The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider reinstating Maine's law aimed at regulating Internet sales of cigarettes in order to prevent minors from buying them.

The state law dictates that carriers have to inspect every package containing tobacco and destined for delivery in Maine. A direct result from this was that carriers had to change their package-processing procedures which led many trade associations to take legal action against the law: An appeals court decided that a federal statute supporting the free flow of interstate commerce pre-empted the Maine law.
The Maine attorney general’s office argued that this decision "leaves delivery sales of tobacco to children unregulated", and asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Ever since Internet tobacco sales increased, Maine has lost tax revenue because of tax-free sales by unlicensed companies. Furthermore, the state had to deal with problems regarding the regulation of tobacco sale to minors.