Bill Text: NC S530 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Prohibit E-Cigarette Sales to Minors
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2013-06-19 - Ch. SL 2013-165 [S530 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2013-S530-Chaptered.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2013
SESSION LAW 2013-165
SENATE BILL 530
AN ACT to prohibit the distribution of tobacco‑derived products and vapor products to minors.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 14‑313 reads as rewritten:
"Article 39.
"Protection of Minors.
"§
14‑313. Youth access to tobacco products.products, tobacco‑derived
products, vapor products, and cigarette wrapping papers.
(a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
(1) Distribute. – To sell,
furnish, give, or provide tobacco products, including tobacco product samples,
samples or cigarette wrapping papers papers, to the
ultimate consumer.
(2) Proof of age. – A drivers license or other photographic identification that includes the bearer's date of birth that purports to establish that the person is 18 years of age or older.
(3) Sample. – A tobacco product distributed to members of the general public at no cost for the purpose of promoting the product.
(3a) Tobacco‑derived product. – Any noncombustible product derived from tobacco that contains nicotine and is intended for human consumption, whether chewed, absorbed, dissolved, ingested, or by other means. This term does not include a vapor product or any product regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration under Chapter V of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
(4) Tobacco product. – Any product that contains tobacco and is intended for human consumption. For purposes of this section, the term includes a tobacco‑derived product, vapor product, or components of a vapor product.
(5) Vapor product. – Any noncombustible product that employs a mechanical heating element, battery, or electronic circuit regardless of shape or size and that can be used to heat a liquid nicotine solution contained in a vapor cartridge. The term includes an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, and electronic pipe. The term does not include any product regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration under Chapter V of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
(b) Sale or distribution to
persons under the age of 18 years. – If any person shall distribute, or aid,
assist, or abet any other person in distributing tobacco products or cigarette
wrapping papers to any person under the age of 18 years, or if any person shall
purchase tobacco products or cigarette wrapping papers on behalf of a person,
less thanperson under the age of 18 years, the person shall be
guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor; provided, however, that it shall not be
unlawful to distribute tobacco products or cigarette wrapping papers to an
employee when required in the performance of the employee's duties. Retail
distributors of tobacco products shall prominently display near the point of
sale a sign in letters at least five‑eighths of an inch high which states
the following:
N.C. LAW STRICTLY PROHIBITS
THE
PURCHASE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTSPRODUCTS, TOBACCO‑DERIVED PRODUCTS,
VAPOR PRODUCTS, AND CIGARETTE WRAPPING PAPERS.
BY PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 18.
PROOF OF AGE REQUIRED.
Failure to post the required sign shall be an infraction punishable by a fine of twenty‑five dollars ($25.00) for the first offense and seventy‑five dollars ($75.00) for each succeeding offense.
A person engaged in the sale of tobacco products or cigarette wrapping papers shall demand proof of age from a prospective purchaser if the person has reasonable grounds to believe that the prospective purchaser is under 18 years of age. Failure to demand proof of age as required by this subsection is a Class 2 misdemeanor if in fact the prospective purchaser is under 18 years of age. Retail distributors of tobacco products or cigarette wrapping papers shall train their sales employees in the requirements of this law. Proof of any of the following shall be a defense to any action brought under this subsection:
(1) The defendant demanded, was shown, and reasonably relied upon proof of age in the case of a retailer, or any other documentary or written evidence of age in the case of a nonretailer.
(2) The defendant relied on the electronic system established and operated by the Division of Motor Vehicles pursuant to G.S. 20‑37.02.
(3) The defendant relied on a biometric identification system that demonstrated (i) the purchaser's age to be at least the required age for the purchase and (ii) the purchaser had previously registered with the seller or seller's agent a drivers license, a special identification card issued under G.S. 20‑377.7, a military identification card, or a passport showing the purchaser's date of birth and bearing a physical description of the person named on the card.
(b1) Vending machines.Distribution
of tobacco products. – Tobacco products shall not be distributed in vending
machines; provided, however, vending machines distributing tobacco products are
permitted (i) in any establishment which is open only to persons 18 years of
age and older; or (ii) in any establishment if the vending machine is under the
continuous control of the owner or licensee of the premises or an employee
thereof and can be operated only upon activation by the owner, licensee, or employee
prior to each purchase and the vending machine is not accessible to the public
when the establishment is closed. The owner, licensee, or employee shall demand
proof of age from a prospective purchaser if the person has reasonable grounds
to believe that the prospective purchaser is under 18 years of age. Failure to
demand proof of age as required by this subsection is a Class 2 misdemeanor if
in fact the prospective purchaser is under 18 years of age. Proof that the
defendant demanded, was shown, and reasonably relied upon proof of age shall be
a defense to any action brought under this subsection. Vending machines
distributing tobacco products in establishments not meeting the above
conditions shall be removed prior to December 1, 1997. Vending machines
distributing tobacco‑derived products, vapor products, or components of
vapor products in establishments not meeting the above conditions shall be removed
prior to August 1, 2013. Any person distributing tobacco products through
vending machines in violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a Class 2
misdemeanor.
(b2) Internet distribution of tobacco products. – A person engaged in the distribution of tobacco products through the Internet or other remote sales methods shall perform an age verification through an independent, third‑party age verification service that compares information available from public records to the personal information entered by the individual during the ordering process to establish that the individual ordering the tobacco products is 18 years of age or older.
(c) Purchase by persons
under the age of 18 years. – If any person under the age of 18 years purchases
or accepts receipt, or attempts to purchase or accept receipt, of tobacco
products or cigarette wrapping papers, or presents or offers to any person any
purported proof of age which is false, fraudulent, or not actually his or her
own, for the purpose of purchasing or receiving any tobacco product or
cigarette wrapping papers, the person shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.misdemeanor;
provided, however, that it shall not be unlawful for an employee to purchase or
accept receipt of tobacco products or cigarette wrapping papers when required
in the performance of the employee's duties.
(d) Send or assistSending
or assisting a person less than 18 years to purchase or receive
tobacco product.products or cigarette wrapping papers. – If any
person shall send a person less than 18 years of age to purchase, acquire,
receive, or attempt to purchase, acquire, or receive tobacco products or
cigarette wrapping papers, or if any person shall aid or abet a person who is
less than 18 years of age in purchasing, acquiring, or receiving or attempting
to purchase, acquire, or receive tobacco products or cigarette wrapping papers,
the person shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor; provided, however, persons
under the age of 18 may be enlisted by police or local sheriffs' departments to
test compliance if the testing is under the direct supervision of that law
enforcement department and written parental consent is provided; provided
further, that the Department of Health and Human Services shall have the
authority, pursuant to a written plan prepared by the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, to use persons under 18 years of age in annual, random,
unannounced inspections, provided that prior written parental consent is given
for the involvement of these persons and that the inspections are conducted for
the sole purpose of preparing a scientifically and methodologically valid statistical
study of the extent of success the State has achieved in reducing the
availability of tobacco products to persons under the age of 18, and preparing
any report to the extent required by section 1926 of the federal Public Health
Service Act (42 USC § 300x‑26).
(e) Statewide uniformity. –
It is the intent of the General Assembly to prescribe this uniform system for
the regulation of tobacco products and cigarette wrapping papers to
ensure the eligibility for and receipt of any federal funds or grants that the
State now receives or may receive relating to the provisions of G.S. 14‑313.
To ensure uniformity, no political subdivisions, boards, or agencies of the
State nor any county, city, municipality, municipal corporation, town,
township, village, nor any department or agency thereof, may enact ordinances,
rules or regulations concerning the sale, distribution, display or promotion of
(i) tobacco products or cigarette wrapping papers on or after September
1, 1995.1995, or (ii) tobacco‑derived products or vapor
products on or after August 1, 2013. This subsection does not apply to the
regulation of vending machines, nor does it prohibit the Secretary of Revenue
from adopting rules with respect to the administration of the tobacco products
taxes levied under Article 2A of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes.
(f) Deferred prosecution. – Notwithstanding G.S. 15A‑1341(a1), any person charged with a misdemeanor under this section shall be qualified for deferred prosecution pursuant to Article 82 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes provided the defendant has not previously been placed on probation for a violation of this section and so states under oath."
SECTION 2. Nothing in this act shall be construed to affect the taxation of tobacco products, tobacco-derived products, vapor products, or components of a vapor product.
SECTION 3. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this act that can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.
SECTION 4. This act becomes effective August 1, 2013, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 13th day of June, 2013.
s/ Daniel J. Forest
President of the Senate
s/ Thom Tillis
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Pat McCrory
Governor
Approved 4:28 p.m. this 19th day of June, 2013
