537.16 ILLEGAL DISTRIBUTION POSSESSION, AND USE OF CIGARETTES OR OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTS.

   (a)   Definitions.

      (1)   “Cigarettes” include any roll for smoking made wholly or in part of tobacco, irrespective of size or shape, and whether or not such tobacco is flavored, adulterated or mixed with any other ingredient, the wrapper or cover of which is made of paper, reconstituted cigarette tobacco, homogenized cigarette tobacco, cigarette tobacco sheer or any similar materials.

      (2)   “Tobacco products” include the proceeds, yields or final form of anything made of wholly or in part of the genus of the plant known as “nicotiana”. Such products include but are not limited to cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco and snuff.

      (3)   “Sale” includes delivery, barter, exchange, transfer or gift, or offer thereof and each transaction made by any person, whether as principal, proprietor, agent, servant or employee.

      (4)   “Possess” or “possession” means having control over a thing or substance, but may not be inferred solely from mere access to the thing or substance through ownership or occupation of the premises upon which the thing or substance is found.

      (5)   “Smoke” means to burn any substance containing tobacco, including a lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe or other device used to burn tobacco.

      (6)   “Use tobacco” means to chew or maintain any substance containing tobacco, including smokeless tobacco, in the mouth to derive the effects of tobacco.

      (7)   “Vending machine” has the same meaning as “coin machine” as defined in Section 545.01.

   (b)   Sales to Minors Prohibited. No manufacturer, producer, distributor, wholesaler ore retailer of cigarettes or other tobacco products, or any agency, employee or representative of a manufacturer, producer, distributor, wholesaler or retailer of cigarettes or other tobacco products shall do any of the following:

      (1)   Give, sell or otherwise distribute cigarettes or other tobacco products to any person under eighteen years of age;

      (2)   Give away, sell or distribute cigarettes or other tobacco products in any place that does not have posted in a conspicuous place a sign stating that giving, selling or otherwise distributing cigarettes or other tobacco products to a person under eighteen years of age is prohibited by law.

   (c)   Sales from Vending Machines.

      (1)   No person shall sell or offer to sell cigarettes or other tobacco products by or from a vending machine except in the following location:

         A.   An area either:

            1.   Within a factory, business, office or other place not open to the general public; or

            2.   To which persons under the age of eighteen years are not generally permitted access;

         B.   In any other place not identified in subsection (c)(1)A. hereof, upon all of the following conditions:

            1.   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 such person, so that all cigarettes and other tobacco product purchases from the vending machine will be readily observed by the person who owns or operates the place or an employee of such person. For the purpose of this section, a vending machine located in any unmonitored area, including an unmonitored coat room, rest room, 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 such person.

            2.   The vending machine is inaccessible to the public when the place is closed.

   (d)   Posting Age Warning Signals.

      (1)   Every person in control of any place within the City where cigarettes or other tobacco products are sold, whether by a person or by a vending machine, shall display at all times, in a prominent place on the premises thereof, or in a prominent place on such cigarettes or other tobacco product vending machine, a printed sign which shall read substantially as follows:

                         WARNING TO PERSONS UNDER AGE

         If you are under the age of eighteen and if you order, pay for, share the cost of, attempt to purchase, possess or use any cigarettes or other tobacco products, or if you furnish false information as to your name, age or other identification, you are subject to punishment in the Juvenile Court of Wayne County, Ohio.

      (2)   No person selling cigarettes or other tobacco products shall fail to comply with this section.

   (e)   Responsibility of Owner, Lessee, Agent or Employee. No owner or lessee of a building or premises, no owner or lessee of a cigarette or other tobacco products vending machine, or their employees or agent shall knowingly allow or permit cigarettes or other tobacco products to be sold, distributed or given away in violation of the provisions of this section.

   (f)   Possession and Use by Minors Prohibited.

      (1)   No person shall give, sell, transfer or otherwise distribute cigarettes or other tobacco products to any person under the age of eighteen years.

      (2)   No person under the age of eighteen years shall smoke, use cigarettes or other tobacco products, or possess any substance containing tobacco.

      (3)   No person under the age of eighteen years shall order, pay for, purchase, share the cost of or attempt to purchase cigarettes or other tobacco products.

      (4)   No person under the age of eighteen years shall knowingly show or give false information concerning his name, age or other identification for the purpose of purchasing or otherwise obtaining cigarettes or other tobacco products in any place in the City where cigarettes or other tobacco products are sold.

      (5)   No person shall knowingly furnish any false information as to the name, age or other identification of any person under eighteen years of age for the purpose of obtaining, or with the intent to obtain, cigarettes or other tobacco products for a person under eighteen years of age, by purchase or as a gift.

   (g)   Immunity. No person may be found guilty of violation of the provisions of this chapter where age is an element of the offense, if any court determines that the individual buying, at the time of so doing, exhibited to the aforesaid person, his agent or employee, a driver’s license or commercial driver’s license showing that such individual was then legal age to buy cigarettes or other tobacco products; and if such person made a bona fide effort to ascertain the true age of the individual buying by checking the identification presented at the time of purchase; to ascertain that the description of the identification presented compared with the visual description of the buyer and the identification presented had not been altered in any way and if the aforesaid person had reason to believe that the individual buying as of legal age.

   (h)   Penalty.

      (1)   Whoever violates subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f)(1), or (f)(5) hereof is guilty of illegal distribution of cigarettes or other tobacco products, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of this section, they shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.

      (2)   Any person under the age of eighteen found violating the provisions of subsection (f) hereof shall be taken into custody by the Police Department and turned over to the Juvenile Court of Wayne County to be dealt with under State law.
(Ord. 46-99. Passed 4-19-99.)