Senate Bill No. 290
(By Senators Foster and Palumbo)
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[Introduced February 18, 2009; referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Resources.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §16-9A-8 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the sale of tobacco products in
packages other than original factory-wrapped packages.
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; sale of tobacco
products in other than original factory wrapped
package prohibited; sale of cigarettes in packages of
less than twenty cigarettes prohibited; sale of
single cigarettes prohibited; warnings required.
(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 $250:
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 July 1, 2000, 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
entity 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.,
§1333(b)(3), as amended.
(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 $250.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to insure that tobacco
products are not sold in any packaging other than the original
factory wrapped package and to insure that cigarettes are not sold
individually.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.