A. Purpose: The mayor and village board of trustees expressly find and declare that:
1. Cigarette smoking is dangerous to human health.
2. There exists substantial scientific evidence that the use of tobacco products causes cancer, heart disease and various other medical disorders.
3. The surgeon general of the United States has declared that nicotine addiction from tobacco is similar to addiction to cocaine and is the most widespread example of drug dependence in this country.
4. The National Institute On Drug Abuse found that cigarette smoking precedes and may be predictive of adolescent illicit drug use.
5. The present legislative scheme of prohibiting sales of tobacco products to persons under the age of twenty one (21) years has proven ineffective in preventing such persons from using tobacco products.
The enactment of this section directly pertains to and is in furtherance of the health, welfare and safety of the residents of the village particularly those residents under twenty one (21) years of age.
B. Definitions: For the purposes of this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them:
TOBACCO PRODUCTS: | Any product containing or made from tobacco that is intended for human consumption, whether smoked, heated, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, snorted, sniffed, or ingested by any other means, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, snuff, snus, and any other smokeless tobacco product which contains tobacco that is finely cut, ground, powdered, or leaf and intended to be placed in the oral cavity. "Tobacco product" includes any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product, whether or not sold separately. "Tobacco product" does not include: an electronic cigarette and alternative nicotine product as defined in Section 3-10-6.5; or any product that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for sale as a tobacco cessation product, as a tobacco dependence product, or for other medical purposes, and is being marketed and sold solely for that approved purpose. |
VENDING MACHINE: | Any mechanical electric or electronic, self-service device which, upon insertion of money, tokens or any other form of payment, dispenses tobacco products. |
C. License Required: It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or to offer to sell at retail, to give away, or to deliver or to keep with the intention of selling at retail, tobacco products, or maintain a vending device for the sale or distribution of the same, within the village without first having obtained a tobacco dealers license therefor pursuant to this section. This license shall apply whether the sale of tobacco products is by way of vending machines or over the counter sales.
D. Application: Application for such licenses shall be made in writing to the village clerk. Such application shall give the name of the applicant, the place where the sale will take place, whether in vending machines or over the counter; and if in vending machines, the denomination of the coin or coins required for its operation, or the value of the token used in lieu thereof, together with a sworn statement by such applicant that such machine will not be used to dispense any illegal merchandise. If the sale is made through vending machines, each of such machines shall be in the charge of some responsible person who shall be subject to penalty in the event of purchases from such machines in violation of the terms of this section or state law.
E. License Fee: The annual fee for a license as herein required shall be fixed at thirty five dollars ($35.00) per year. The license fee shall be payable to the village clerk on or before May 1 of each year. The year for which the license shall be valid shall commence on May 1 and end on April 30 of the succeeding year. Such license shall authorize the person or corporation therein named to expose for sale, sell or offer for sale, tobacco products of any kind, at the place designated there and there only. The annual fee for such license shall be thirty five dollars ($35.00) whether the sale of tobacco products is by way of vending machines or over the counter sales, or a combination of the two (2) methods of sale.
F. Prohibited Sales, Delivery; Signs: It shall be unlawful for any person, including any licensee, to sell, offer for sale, give away or deliver tobacco products to any person under the age of twenty one (21) years. Signs informing the public of the age restrictions provided for herein shall be posted by every licensee at or near every display of tobacco products and on or upon every vending machine which offers tobacco products for sale. Each such sign shall be plainly visible and shall state:
THE SALE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS TO PERSONS UNDER TWENTY ONE (21) YEARS IS PROHIBITED BY LAW.
G. Verification Of Age: Before selling, offering for sale, giving, or furnishing tobacco products to another person, the person selling, offering for sale, giving, or furnishing the alternative nicotine product or any electronic cigarette shall verify that the person is at least twenty one (21) years of age by:
1. Examining from any person that appears to be under thirty (30) years of age a government-issued photographic identification that establishes the person is at least twenty one (21) years of age; or
2. For sales made through the internet or other remote sales methods, performing 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 person during the ordering process that establishes the person is twenty one (21) years of age or older.
H. Purchase By PERSONS UNDER TWENTY-ONE (21) Prohibited: It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of twenty one (21) years to purchase tobacco products, or to misrepresent their identity or age, or to use any false or altered identification for the purpose of purchasing tobacco products.
I. Possession By PERSONS UNDER TWENTY-ONE (21) Prohibited: It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of twenty one (21) years to possess any tobacco products, provided that the possession by a person under the age twenty one (21) years under the direct supervision of the parent or guardian of such person in the privacy of the parent's or guardian's home shall not be prohibited.
J. Proximity To Certain Institutions: It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, give away or deliver tobacco products within one hundred feet (100') of any school, childcare facility. The distance of one hundred feet (100') shall be measured to the nearest part of any building used for school or childcare purposes and not to property boundaries.
K. Certain Free Distributions Prohibited: It shall be unlawful for any licensee or any person in the business of selling or otherwise distributing, promoting or advertising tobacco products, or any employee or agent of any such licensee or person, in the course of such licensee's or person's business, to distribute, give away or deliver tobacco products or promotional or advertising materials of tobacco products free of charge to any person on any right of way, park, playground or other property owned by the village, any school district, any park district or any public library.
L. Vending Machines; Locking Devices:
1. It shall be unlawful for any licensee to sell or offer for sale, give away, deliver or to keep with the intention of selling, giving away or delivering tobacco products by use of a vending machine, unless such vending machine is subject to the control and supervision of the licensee and that said vending machine is equipped with a locking device which can be controlled by the licensee so as to prevent its operation by persons under the age of twenty one (21) years.
2. Any premises where access by persons under the age of twenty one (21) years is prohibited by law, or premises where the public is generally not permitted and where vending machines are strictly for the use of employees of businesses located at such premises, shall be exempt from the requirements of this section.
M. Responsibility For Agents And Employees: Every act or omission of whatsoever nature, constituting a violation of any of the provisions of this section by any officer, director, manager or other agent or employee of any licensee shall be deemed and held to be the act of such licensee; and such licensee shall be punishable in the same manner as if such act or omission had been done or omitted by the licensee personally.
N. Suspension; Revocation Of License; Fines; Costs: The Mayor shall be charged with the administration of this section. The Mayor may suspend or revoke any license issued under the provisions of this section if he determines that the licensee has violated any of the provisions of this section. In lieu of suspension or revocation of a license, the Mayor may instead levy a fine on the licensee. The fine imposed shall not exceed seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) for each violation. Each day on which a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. However, no such license shall be suspended or revoked and no licensee shall be fined except after a public hearing by the Mayor with a seven (7) day written notice to the licensee affording the licensee an opportunity to appear and defend against the charges contained in such notice. The seven (7) day notice provisions shall begin the day following delivery by certified mail or by personal service.
The Mayor shall within seven (7) days after such hearing, if he determines after such hearing that the license should be revoked or suspended or that the licensee should be fined, state the reason for such determination in a written order and either the amount of the fine, the period of suspension or that the license has been revoked and serve a copy of such order within the seven (7) days upon the licensee.
Any licensee determined by the Mayor to have violated any of the provisions of this section shall pay to the Village the costs of the hearing before the Mayor on such violation. The Mayor shall determine the costs incurred by the Village for said hearing including, but not limited to, court reporter's fees, the costs of transcripts or records, attorneys' fees, the costs of preparing and mailing notices and orders and all other miscellaneous expenses incurred by the Village or such lesser sum as the Mayor may allow.
The licensee shall pay said costs to the Village within thirty (30) days of notification of the costs by the Mayor. Failure to pay said costs within thirty (30) days of notification is a violation of this section and may be cause for license suspension or revocation or the levy of a fine.
O. Inspection: It shall be the duty of the Chief of Police and the Building Commissioner and they are hereby authorized and empowered from time to time to inspect and examine all places wherein such tobacco products are licensed to be sold, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the laws of the State and of the Village in relation to the same, are being complied with at such places. It shall be the duty of all persons or corporations licensed to sell tobacco products, upon the demand of the Chief of Police or Building Commissioner, to furnish for inspection samples of all tobacco products sold or offered for sale, which samples shall be analyzed by or under the direction of the Chief of Police or Building Commissioner.
P. Products Containing Other Drugs: No person shall offer for sale or expose for sale to any person, directly or indirectly, any tobacco products containing opium, morphine, jimsonweed, belladonna, strychnia, cocaine or any other deleterious or poisonous drug or drugs.
Q. Use Of Premises After Revocation: When any license shall have been revoked for any cause, no license shall be granted to said licensee for the period of six (6) months thereafter for the conduct of the business of selling tobacco products as defined in subsection C of this section in the premises described in such revoked license. (Ord. 96-10, 3-18-1996; amd. Ord. 2010-09, 4-13-2010; Ord. 2017-48, 10-24-2017; Ord. 2019-25, 6-25-2019)