Senate Bill No. 288
(By Senators Foster and Stollings)
____________
[Introduced January 22, 2008; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact §16-9A-8 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to prohibiting the sale of tobacco
products in anything other than original factory-wrapped
package; prohibiting the sale of cigarettes in packages of
less than twenty; prohibiting the sale of single cigarettes;
and requiring warnings.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-9A-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9A. TOBACCO USAGE RESTRICTIONS.
§16-9A-8. Selling of tobacco products in vending machines
prohibited except in certain places.
(a) No person or business entity may offer for sale any
cigarette or other tobacco product in a vending machine. Any
person or business entity which violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined two hundred fifty dollars:
Provided, That an
establishment is exempt from this prohibition if individuals under
the age of eighteen years are not permitted to be in the
establishment or if the establishment is licensed by the Alcohol
Beverage Control Commissioner as a Class A licensee. The Alcohol
Beverage Control Commissioner shall promulgate rules pursuant to
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code prior to the
first day of July, two thousand, which rules shall establish
standards for the location and control of the vending machines in
Class A licensed establishments for the purpose of restricting
access by minors.
(b) No person may sell or offer for sale and no business
entity may sell or offer for sale or distribution tobacco products
in any form other than an original factory wrapped package.
(c) No person may sell or cause to be sold and no business may
sell or cause to be sold or distribute or cause to be distributed,
any cigarette package that contains fewer than twenty cigarettes.
(d) In no event may any person or business entity sell or
cause to be sold single cigarettes or packages of cigarettes that
do not display the warnings with the content and display
characteristics required by the provisions of 15 U.S.C. section
1333.
(e) Any person or business entity which violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined two hundred fifty dollars.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the sale of
tobacco products in anything other than original factory wrapped
package; prohibit the sale of cigarettes in packages of less than
twenty; prohibit the sale of single cigarettes; and warnings
required on packages.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.