(a) Except as otherwise provided by Divisions (D) and (E) of Section 2927.02 of the Ohio Revised Code, no manufacturer, producer, distributor, wholesaler, or retailer of cigarettes, other Tobacco Products, or Tobacco Product Paraphernalia or any agent, employee, or representative of a manufacturer, producer distributor, wholesaler, or retailer of cigarettes, other tobacco products, or Tobacco Product Paraphernalia shall do any of the following:
(1) Give, sell, or otherwise distribute cigarettes, other tobacco products, or Tobacco Product Paraphernalia to any person under twenty-one years of age;
(2) Give away, sell, or distribute cigarettes, other tobacco products, or Tobacco Product Paraphernalia in any place that does not have posted in a conspicuous place sign stating that giving, selling, or otherwise distributing cigarettes or other tobacco products to a person under twenty-one years of age is prohibited by law.
(b) No person shall sell or offer to sell cigarettes, tobacco products, or Tobacco Product Paraphernalia by or from a vending machine except in the following locations:
(1) An area either:
A. Within a factory, business office, or other place not open to the general public; or
B. To which persons under the age of twenty-one years are not generally permitted access;
(2) In any other place not identified in subsection (b)(1) 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 snch person, so that all purchases of cigarettes, tobacco products, or Tobacco Product Paraphernalia from the vending machine will be readily observed by the person who owns or operates the place or any employee of such person.
B. The vending machine is inaccessible to the public when the place is closed.
(c) As used in this section, "vending machine" has the same meaning as "coin machine" as defined in Section 2913.01 of the Revised Code.
(d) All manufacturers, producers, distributors, wholesalers, or retailers of cigarettes, other tobacco products, or Tobacco Product Paraphernalia shall comply with any applicable certification requirements promulgated by the Summit County Combined General Health District.
(e) Whoever violates this section shall be subject to a civil penalty for illegal distribution of cigarettes, tobacco products, or Tobacco Product Paraphernalia. Whoever violates this section shall not be subject to a fine for a first violation. A civil fine of $500 will be issued for a second violation of this section. A civil fine of $1,000 will be issued for all subsequent violations.
(f) All fines collected by the Summit County Combined General Health District pursuant to this section shall be utilized for efforts to prevent smoking initiation by persons under the age of 21 or for efforts to promote smoking cessation, including supports for those who will no longer be able to purchase cigarettes or other tobacco products pursuant to this section.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, enforcement authority of this section shall rest with the Summit County Combined General Health District pursuant to O.R.C. 3709.281. Enforcement of this section, including the issuance of penalties, shall only be underaken following the adoption of the regulations by the Summit County Combined General Health District relating to the enforcement of this section.
(Ord. 68-2018. Passed 10-16-18.)
CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF RICHFIELD