(a) As used in this Section:
(1) "Age verification" means a service provided by an independent third party (other than a manufacturer, producer, distributor, wholesaler, or retailer of an Electronic Smoking Device) that compares information available from a commercially available database, or aggregate of databases, that regularly are used by government and businesses for the purpose of age and identity verification to personal information provided during an internet sale or other remote method of sale to establish that the purchaser is eighteen (18) years of age or older.
(2) "Child" means a person who is under eighteen (18) years of age.
(3) "Distribute" means to furnish, give, or provide an Electronic Smoking Device to the ultimate consumer of an Electronic Smoking Device.
(4) "Proof of age" means a driver's license, a commercial driver's license, a military identification card, a birth certificate, a passport, or an identification card issued under Sections 4507.50 to 4507.52 of the Revised Code that shows that a person is eighteen (18) years of age or older.
(5) "Electronic Smoking Device" means any electronic delivery device and product containing or delivering nicotine, lobelia, or any other substance intended for human consumption that can be used by a person to simulate smoking in the delivery of nicotine or any other substance through inhalation of vapor from the product. Electronic Smoking Device shall include any component, part, or accessory of such a device, whether or not sold separately, and includes any substance intended to be aerosolized or vaporized during the use of the device. Electronic Smoking Device shall not include any product that has been approved or otherwise certified by the United States Food and Drug Administration for legal sales for use in tobacco cessation treatment or other medical purposes, and is being marketed and sold solely for that approved purpose.
(b) No manufacturer, producer, distributor, wholesaler, or retailer of an Electronic
Smoking Device, no agent, employee, or representative of a manufacturer, producer, distributor, wholesaler, or retailer of an Electronic Smoking Device, and no other person shall do any of the following:
(1) Give, sell, or otherwise distribute an Electronic Smoking Device to any child.
(2) Knowingly furnish any false information regarding the name, age, or other identification of any child with purpose to obtain an Electronic Smoking Device.
(3) Give, sell, or otherwise distribute an Electronic Smoking Device over the internet or through another remote method without age verification.
(c) The following are affirmative defenses to a charge under subsection (b)(1) of this section:
(1) The child was accompanied by a parent, spouse who is eighteen (18) years of age or older, or legal guardian of the child.
(2) The person who gave, sold, or distributed Electronic Smoking Devices to a child under subsection (b)(1) of this Section is a parent, spouse who is eighteen (18) years of age or older, or legal guardian of the child.
(d) It is not a violation of subsection (b)(1) or (2) of this Section for a person to give or otherwise distribute to a child Electronic Smoking Devices while the child is participating in a research protocol if all of the following apply:
(1) The parent or legal guardian of the child has consented in writing to the child participating in the research protocol.
(2) A review board sanctioned by the appropriate federal or state agency, or an equivalent entity, has approved the research protocol.
(3) The child is participating in the research protocol at the facil ity or location specified in the research protocol.
(e) (1) Whoever violates subsection (b)(1) or (3) of this Section is guilty of illegal distribution of Electronic Smoking Devices. Except as otherwise provided in this division, illegal distribution of an Electron ic Smoking Device is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of subsection (b)(1) or (3) of this Section, illegal distribution of Electronic Smoking Devices is a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(2) Whoever violates subsection (b)(2) of this Section is guilty of permitting children to use an Electronic Smoking Device. Except as otherwise provided in this division, permitting children to use Electronic Smoking Devices is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of subsection (b) (2) of this Section, permitting children to use an Electronic Smoking Device is a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(Ord. 2019-039. Passed 4-1-19.)