H. B. 4652
(By Delegates Schoen and Perdue)
[Introduced February 18, 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 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.
(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
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 two hundred fifty dollars.
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.