(a) No manufacturer, producer, distributor, wholesaler, or retailer of electronic cigarettes, cigarettes, other tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or papers used to roll cigarettes, no agent, employee, or representative of a manufacturer, producer, distributor, wholesaler, or retailer of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or papers used to roll cigarettes, and no other person shall do any of the following:
(1) Give, sell, or otherwise distribute cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or papers used to roll cigarettes to any child;
(2) Give away, sell, or distribute cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or papers used to roll cigarettes in any place that does not have posted in a conspicuous place a sign stating that giving, selling, or otherwise distributing cigarettes, other tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or papers used to roll cigarettes to a person under twenty-one years of age is prohibited by law;
(3) Knowingly furnish any false information regarding the name, age, or other identification of any individual with purpose to obtain cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or papers used to roll cigarettes for that individual;
(4) Manufacture, sell, or distribute in this City any pack or other container of cigarettes containing fewer than twenty cigarettes or any package of roll-your-own tobacco containing less than six-tenths of one ounce of tobacco;
(5) Sell cigarettes or alternative nicotine products in a smaller quantity than that placed in the pack or other container by the manufacturer;
(6) Give, sell, or otherwise distribute alternative nicotine products, papers used to roll cigarettes, or tobacco products other than cigarettes over the internet or through another remote method without age verification;
(7) Give, sell, or otherwise distribute electronic cigarettes, or any component necessary for the function thereof (except power supplies / batteries) to any person without first requesting and receiving proof of age.
(b) No person shall sell or offer to sell cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, or alternative nicotine products by or from a vending machine, except in the following locations:
(1) An area within a factory, business, office, or other place not open to the general public;
(2) An area to which children are not generally permitted access;
(3) Any other place not identified in subsection (b)(1) or (2) of this section, upon all of the following conditions:
A. The vending machine is located within the immediate vicinity, plain view, and control of the person who owns or operates the place, or an employee of that person, so that all cigarettes, other tobacco product, and alternative nicotine product purchases from the vending machine will be readily observed by the person who owns or operates the place or an employee of that person. For the purpose of this section, a vending machine located in any unmonitored area, including an unmonitored coatroom, restroom, hallway, or outer waiting area, shall not be considered located within the immediate vicinity, plain view, and control of the person who owns or operates the place, or an employee of that person.
B. The vending machine is inaccessible to the public when the facility is closed.
(c) The following are affirmative defenses to a charge under subsection (a)(1) of this section:
(1) A child was accompanied by a parent, spouse who is twenty-one years of age or older, or legal guardian of the child.
(2) The person who gave, sold, or distributed cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or papers used to roll cigarettes to a child under subsection (b)(1) of this section is a parent, spouse who is twenty-one years of age or older, or legal guardian of the child.
(d) It is not a violation of subsection (a)(1) or (2) of this section for a person to give or otherwise distribute to a child cigarettes, electronic cigarettes other tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or papers used to roll cigarettes while the child is participating in a research protocol if all of the following apply:
(1) The parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the child has consented in writing to the child participating in the research protocol.
(2) An institutional human subjects protection review board, or an equivalent entity, has approved the research protocol.
(3) The child is participating in the research protocol at the facility or location specified in the research protocol.
(e) (1) Whoever violates subsection (a)(1), (2), (4), (5), (6), (7) or (b) of this section is guilty of illegal distribution of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, or alternative nicotine products. Except as otherwise provided in this division, illegal distribution of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, or alternative nicotine products is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of subsection (a)(1), (2), (4), (5), (6), (7) or (b) of this section, illegal distribution of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, or alternative nicotine products is a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(2) Whoever violates subsection (a)(3) of this section is guilty of permitting persons under the age of twenty-one years to use cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, or alternative nicotine products. Except as otherwise provided in this division, permitting persons under the age of twenty-one years to use cigarettes, other tobacco products, or alternative nicotine products is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of subsection (a)(3) of this section, permitting persons under the age of twenty-one years to use cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, or alternative nicotine products is a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(f) Any cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, other tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or papers used to roll cigarettes that are given, sold, or otherwise distributed to any individual in violation of this section and that are used, possessed, purchased, or received by any individual in violation of Chapter 557 of the Codified Ordinance of the City of North Olmsted are subject to seizure and forfeiture as contraband under Chapter 2981 of the Revised Code. (Ord. 2019-80. Passed 11-6-19.)