(a) In Person and Delivery Sales. No tobacco retail establishment or person shall sell or offer to sell any tobacco product by means of delivery sales. All sales of tobacco products must be conducted in person, in a licensed tobacco retail establishment, in over-the-counter sales
transactions.
(b) Vending Machine Sales. No tobacco retail establishment or person shall sell or offer to sell any tobacco product through vending machine or self-service displays without first acquiring a tobacco retail license pursuant to Section 780.02 of this Chapter and Section 537.16(a)(3) of the Lorain Code of Ordinances governing vending machine sales.
(c) Legal Age. No tobacco retailer, tobacco retail establishment, or person shall sell any tobacco product to any person under the age of twenty-one (21) under this Chapter and under Section 537.16 of the Lorain Code of Ordinances.
(d) Age Verification. Licensees must verify by means of government-issued photographic identification containing the bearer's date of birth that the purchaser of any tobacco product is at least twenty-one (21) years of age in accordance with this Chapter and under the age verification and transaction scan requirements provided under Chapter 537.16 of the Lorain Code of Ordinances.
(e) Signage. Notice of the legal sales age for the purchase of tobacco products, age verification requirements, and possible penalties for underage sales must be posted within (6) feet of each cash register or place where payment may be made in a place conspicuous to both employees and customers, and where the sign( s) are unobstructed in their entirety. The sign shall state, "THE SALE OR PROVISION OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS, INCLUDING E-CIGARETTES, TO AN INDIVIDUAL UNDER TWENTY-ONE (21) YEARS OF AGE IS PROHIBITED BY LAW." The sign required shall be fourteen (14) inches by eleven (11) inches and the statement required shall be printed in thirty-six (36)-point boldfaced type. The required signage will be provided to the licensee by Lorain County Public Health, or another designee.
(f) Samples Prohibited. No tobacco retailer, tobacco retail establishment, or person shall gift or distribute samples of any tobacco product free of charge or at a nominal cost, regardless of the age of the person acquiring the product. The distribution of a tobacco product as a sample, free donation, gift, or at otherwise nominal cost, is prohibited and shall subject the tobacco retailer or tobacco retail establishment to the penalties prescribed under this Chapter and those prescribed by other local, state or federal laws pertaining to samples, donation, or otherwise nominally priced tobacco products.
(g) No tobacco retailer, tobacco retail establishment, or person shall sell or offer to sell any tobacco product in any manner or form prohibited by federal, state, or other local law, ordinance provision, or other regulation.
(h) Any person, tobacco retailer or tobacco retail establishment found to be selling a tobacco product without a license required under Section 780.02 shall be issued a No Sales Order for Tobacco Products and shall be ineligible to receive a tobacco retailer license for a period of three (3) years.
(Ord. 233-23. Passed 11-6-23.)