Some state and federal officials want to ban tobacco products from being shipped by mail, saying the prohibition is needed to prevent sales to minors and stop Internet buyers from dodging state tobacco taxes.

The Connecticut Post reported May 10 that state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal recently endorsed legislation sponsored by Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) that would add tobacco to the list of banned products for mail delivery. The measure has been approved by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Opposing the legislation is UST Inc., based in Stamford and the world's top producer of moist smokeless tobacco products. "We would hope Congress would consider the interests of wholesalers and retailers who may use the Postal Service for business-to-business shipping," said company spokesperson Andrew Lee.

UPS, DHL and FedEx all have already stopped delivering tobacco products, but only Congress can change the rules governing deliveries by the U.S. Postal Service.

"This is the last refuge of illegal Internet sales," Blumenthal said. "If we can just sever this channel it will have tremendous consequences for tax evasion as well as underage sales. In my view, it will happen. It is just a question of when."