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Supreme Court agreed today to consider reinstating Maine's law aimed at regulating Internet sales of cigarettes to keep them out of the hands of minors...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The US Supreme Court agreed today to consider reinstating Maine's law aimed at regulating Internet sales of cigarettes to keep them out of the hands of minors.

Trade associations for delivery companies successfully argued in an appeals court that a federal statute supporting the free flow of interstate commerce pre-empted the Maine law.

The Maine attorney general argues that states should be allowed to exercise their public health powers to stop delivery of tobacco to children.

To comply with the state law, carriers must specially inspect every package containing tobacco and destined for delivery in Maine.

Maine's law forces carriers to change their procedures. The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals said that conflicts with federal law, which says states cannot enact a law related to a service of any shipper.

The 2003 state law makes it illegal to knowingly deliver tobacco products to a Maine consumer if the product was purchased from an unlicensed retailer.