Relating to tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, vapor products, and cigarettes, providing penalties and making penalties applicable, and including effective date provisions

The bill makes other definitional changes and conforming changes throughout the Code to redefine these products. The bill increases the minimum age relative to various activities relating to tobacco, tobacco products, and cigarettes from years of age to years of age. The bill prohibits a person from selling, giving, or otherwise supplying any tobacco, tobacco products, or cigarettes to any person under years of age. The bill also prohibits a person under years of age from smoking, using, possessing, purchasing, or attempting to purchase any tobacco, tobacco products, or cigarettes. The bill makes conforming changes in the Code relative to use of a driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card by an underage person to obtain tobacco, tobacco products, or cigarettes; compliance efforts; sale of tobacco, tobacco products, or cigarettes through vending machines; the giving away of samples of tobacco, tobacco products, or cigarettes to persons under years of age and within 500 feet of certain locations; and the mailing, shipping, or other delivery of alternative nicotine products or vapor products. The bill amends certain penalties relative to employees of retailers and persons under the age of who violate certain provisions of the bill.2(2), which prohibits such a person from smoking, using, possessing, purchasing, or attempting to purchase any tobacco, tobacco products, or cigarettes, the bill provides that instead of such violation being a simple misdemeanor and subject to a scheduled fine of $200, the person is instead subject to performance of community work requirements ranging from hours for a first offense to hours for a third or subsequent offense. With regard to an employee of a retailer who sells, gives, or otherwise supplies any tobacco, tobacco products, or cigarettes to any person under years of age, the bill provides that instead of the person committing a simple misdemeanor punishable as a scheduled violation ranging from $100 to $500 based upon the number of violations, the person is subject to the voiding of any valid certification of completion of tobacco compliance training and required completion of subsequent tobacco compliance employee training, as well as performance of community work requirements ranging from hours for a first offense to hours for a third or subsequent offense. With regard to a person under years of age who smokes, uses, possesses, purchases, or attempts to purchase any tobacco, tobacco products, or cigarettes, the bill provides that instead of the person being subject to a scheduled fine, which is a civil penalty and ranges in amount from $50 for a first offense to $250 for a third or subsequent offense, the person is subject to performance of community work requirements ranging from hours for a first offense to hours for a third or subsequent offense.42 with tobacco, tobacco product, and cigarette regulations, and ordinances relating to persons under years of age, to provide for a minimum number of two checks per place of business or retail outlet from which tobacco, tobacco products, or cigarettes are sold to consumers. The bill also strikes current law requiring uniform implementation, application, and enforcement of Code chapter 453A (cigarette and tobacco taxes and regulation of alternative nicotine products and vapor products) and instead provides that nothing in the Code chapter shall be construed to limit a local jurisdiction from adopting or enforcing a local law or regulation that is more stringent than the provisions of the chapter; and notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a local jurisdiction may adopt and enforce a local law or regulation related to the chapter that is at least as stringent as state law and regulation. The bill takes effect upon enactment.