canton, ma ordinance to senselessly ban e-cigarette sales

7/27/2019 Canton, MA Ordinance to Senselessly Ban E-Cigarette Sales

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Board of Health Legal NoticePer MGL Chapter 111 Section 31 the Canton Board of Health willbe holding a public hearing on August 12, 2013 7pm at theCanton Town Hall in the Salah Meeting Room, 801 WashingtonStreet. The purpose of the hearing is to vote on amendments tothe Youth Access Tobacco Regulation. The amendments wouldeliminate certain nicotine delivery devices for sale in Canton andto raise the purchasing age of tobacco products from 18 to 21years of age. A copy of the proposed revised regulation isavailable at the Canton Board of Health office, or the TownClerk's Office.


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Regulation of the Canton Board of HealthProhibition of the Sale of Tobacco Products to Minors-2013 Revision

A.Statement of Purpose:W hereas there exists conclusive evidence that tobacco sm oke causes cancer,respiratory and cardiac diseases, neg ative birth outcom es, irritations to the eyes,nose and throat; and w hereas more than eighty percent of all smok ers beginsmoking b efore the age of eighteen years (Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, "Youth Surveillance - United States 2000," 50 MM W R 1 (Nov.2000)); and wh ereas nationally in 2000, sixty nine percent of middle school agechildren who sm oke at least once a mon th were not asked to show proof of agewhen purchasing cigarettes (Ibid.); and w hereas the U.S. D epartment of H ealthand H uman Services has concluded that nicotine is as addictive as cocaine orheroin; and whpite state la prsiting the sale to acco products tominors, accesss to tobacc sro. cts s a major p o anow, thereforethe Canton Boalth herebythis RegRegulation) tocurtail the aceB.Authority.This RegulatBoard of Hea ed to the Canton1, 31.C. DefinitioFor the purpose o f this Regulation, the following wo rds shall have the followingmeanings:Business Agen t: An individual who has been designated by the owner oroperator of any establishment to be the m anager or otherwise in charge o f saidestablishment."Electronic Cigarette": (Also E-Cigarette) A nicotine delivery system whichmay or may not have the appearance of a cigarette, but which uses battery poweror some other form of h eat or energy to assist in delivering nicotine to the userand which provides vapor or liquid or other form of nicotine to the user, or relieson vaporization of solid or liquid nicotine.Employee: Any individual who performs services for an employer.Employer: Any individual, partnership, association, corporation, trust or otherorganized group of individuals, which uses the services of one (1) or mo reemployees.

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Lock-out device: A device that locks out sales from the vending m achine unlessa release mechanism is triggered by an em ployee.M inor: Any individual who is under the age of twenty-one (21) years.Nicotine Delivery Product: Any manufactured non-medical method, device, orproduct mad e w holly or in part of a tobacco substitute or containing nicotine thatis expected or intended for human con sumption, whether or not smoke or vapor isproduced, which is sold for the purpose of delivering nicotine in any of its formsto an individual, either directly or indirectly and either internally or externally,not including traditional tobacco products as defined in this Regulation, andwhich has no t been prescribed by a physician or other licensed medical personnelwho can legally prescribe medication. Nicotine delivery products include, but arenot limited to, e-cigarettes and sm okeless tobacco products as defined in thisRegulation. A nicotine delivery product does not include any product approvedby the Un ited States Food and Drug A dministration for sale as a tobacco usecessation or harm reduction product, or for other med ical purposes and which isbeing marketed and sold solely for that approved purpose. Nicotine gum andnicotine patches are ex empt from prohibition by this regulation if sold toindividuals above the ag e of 21.Non-M edical: Not approved by the US Fo od and Drug Agency (FDA ).Perm it: A tobacco sales permit issued or required pursuant to this Regulation.Permit Holder: Any person engaged in the sale or distribution of tobaccoproducts directly to consum ers who applies for and receives a tobacco salespermit from the Canton Bo ard of Health or any person who is required to applyfor a tobacco sales perm it pursuant to this Regulation, or his or her businessagent.Person: An individual, emp loyer, employee, retail store manage r or owner, orthe own er or operator of any establishmen t engaged in the sale or distribution oftobacco products directly to consum ers.Self Service Display: Any display from which custom ers may select a tobaccoproduct without assistance from an em ployee or store personnel, excludingvending m achines.Smokeless Tobacco Product: For the purposes of this Regulation, smokelesstobacco shall be defined as any tobacco product that may or m ay not produce avapor, but does not produce smok e, not including chew ing tobacco or "snuff'.

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E. Other Prohibited Items:All non-medical use Nicotine Delivery Products including, but not limited toElectronic Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco, as defined in this Regulationare prohibited from sale, without exception, in the Town of Canton. Violationsof this section shall be punishable pursuant to Section L(1)(g) and (h), exceptnicotine gum and nicotine patches used for medical purposes such as quittingsmoking as p rovided in this Regulation, however such exem pt products shallnot be sold or delivered to any m inors unless such minor provides a signedprescription by a licensed ph ysician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner.

F. Tobacco S ales Permit:I. No person shall sell or otherwise distribute tobacco or nicotine productswithin the Tow n of C anton without first obtaining a tobacco seller's permit(Permit) which expires annually, by the Canton B oard of H ealth.2. As part of the Permit application process, the applicant will be provided withthe "Prohibition of the Sale of Tob acco Products to M inors Regulation with2013 Revisions" (Regulation). Each applicant shall sign a statement d eclaringthat the applicant has read said Regulation and that the applicant is responsiblefor instructing any and all employees w ho w ill be responsible for sales oftobacco products concerning both state laws regarding the sale of tobaccoproducts and this Regulation.3. Each applicant is required to provide proof of a current tobacco sales license

issued by the M assachusetts Department of R evenue before Permit pursuant tothis Regulation m ay be issued by the C anton Board of H ealth.4. The fee for a P ermit shall be determined by a simple m ajority vote of theCanton B oard of Health annually. All such permits shall be renewed annuallyby January 1s t of each year.5. A separate Permit is required for each retail establishment selling tobaccoproducts and shall include the types of tobacco or nicotine products to be sold.6. Each P ermit shall be displayed at the retail establishment in a conspicuousplace.7. No Permit holder shall allow any em ployee to sell cigarettes, or other tobaccoproducts or non-m edical nicotine delivery products until such em ployee readsthis Regulation and State laws regarding the sale of tobacco or nicotineproducts, and signs a statement, a copy of which w ill be placed on file in theoffice of the Canton Board of Health and the em ployer, stating that theemployee has read this R egulation and applicable State laws, and is required

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to check the identification of any person appearing to be under the age oftwenty-seven (27) and shall not to sell tobacco or nicotine products to anyoneunder the age of twenty-one (21) years pursuant to this Regulation.8. Tobacco S ale Permits in Canton are non-transferable.9. Issuance of a P ermit shall be conditioned on an applicant's consent to

unannounced, periodic inspections of his/her retail establishment by theCanton B oard of H ealth or its agents to ensure com pliance with thisRegulation.G.Free D istribution:No person shall distribute, or cause to be distributed, any free samples of tobaccoproducts, or any o ther non-medical nicotine delivery product.H. Out-of-Package Sales:No person shall sell or cause to be sold, or distribute or cause to be distributed,any cigarette package that has been opened, or any tobacco or nicotine productthat has been remo ved from the original manufacturer's package. No person shallsell or cause to be sold, or distribute or cause to be distributed, any tobacco ornicotine products in any form other than in its original, unopened factory-wrapped p ackage or in a package in which the Tax Seal, if applicable, has beenbroken or tam pered with. No person shall sell or cause to be sold, or distribute orcause to be distributed, any cigarette package that contains fewer than twenty

(20) cigarettes, including single cigarettes.I. Self-Service Displays:Self-service displays of tobacco products or any other no n-medical nicotinedelivery products are prohibited. All hum idors must be locked. W alk-in hum idorsmust be locked so that access cannot be gained from the o utside withoutunlocking it. Self-service displays that are located in facilities where the retailerchecks the identification of customers and ensures that no person you nger thantwenty-one (21) years of age is permitted to enter at any time are exempted fromthis section of the Regulation.J. Tobacco Vending M achines: All tobacco vending machines are prohibitedwith the following exception only. A tobacco vending m achine equipped with alock out device in an establishment with a valid liquor-pouring license. Alock-out device locks out sales from the v ending m achine unless a releasemech anism triggered by an emp loyee is permitted. The release mechanism m ustnot allow continuous operation of the vending m achine, must be out of the reachof all customers, and in a location accessible only to em ployees. All vending

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machines subject to this exception m ust be in full view at all times of theemployee(s) responsible for operating the lock-out device.K. Responsibility:It shall be the responsibility of the permit holder and/or his or her business agentto ensure com pliance with all sections of this Regulation pertaining to his or herdistribution of tobacco products and any other non-medical nicotine deliveryproduct.L.Violations:1. Violations of this Regulation shall be punishable as follows:

a. In the case of a first violation, the Perm it Holder shall receive a finein the amount of on e hundred dollars ($100) and the permit shall bebe suspended for three (3) consecutive business days.b. In the case of two (2) violations within an eighteen (18) monthsperiod the Permit Holder shall receive a fine in the amount o f twohundred dollars ($200) and the permit shall be suspended for seven(7) consecutive business days.c. In the case of three violations within an eighteen (18) m onth period,the Permit Holder shall receive a fine in the amount of three hundreddollars ($300) and the permit shall be suspended for thirty (30)consecutive business days.d. In the case of four or m ore violations w ithin an eighteen (18) m onth

period, the Permit Holder shall receive a fine in the am ount of threehundred dollars ($300) and the perm it shall be perman ently revoked.e. All fines shall be paid prior to lifting of any suspen sions, regardlessof the length of the suspension. Revocations shall be permanen t.f. Any P ermit holder who engages in the sale or distribution of tobaccoproducts or any o ther nicotine delivery system o r device to anyperson w hile the permit holder's permit is suspended shall be subjectto the suspension of all Canton B oard of H ealth issued perm its forthirty (30) consecutive business days.g. Any person who engages in the sale or distribution of tobaccoproducts in the Town of C anton without having a valid Permit shallbe subject to a fine of five hundred do llars ($500) for each offense.h. Each d ay that a violation of this Regulation occurs shall beconsidered a separate offense.

2. Refusal by a Periit holder to allow an inspection pursuant to this Regulationshall result in the suspension of the Permit for thirty (30) consecutive businessdays.Page 6


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3. The C anton Board of Health shall provide the Perm it holder with writtennotice of the intent to suspend or revoke a Permit, which notice shall containthe reasons therefore and shall establish a time, place, and date for a hearing,which date shall be no earlier than seven (7) days after the date of said notice.The Permit holder or its agent shall have an opportunity to be heard at suchhearing and shall be notified of the Board of Health's decision and the reasonstherefore in writing. The Canton Board of Health, after the hearing, maysuspend, revoke, or reinstate the Permit. All tobacco products shall beremoved from the retail establishment upon suspension or revocation of thePermit. Failure to remove all tobacco products shall constitute a separateviolation of this Regulation and shall be subject to the penalties stated inSections L(1)(0 and/or L(1)(g) of this Regulation.4. Any permit holder found in violation of this Regulation w ho does not pay theassessed fine w ithin twenty-one (21) days from the date the fine is issued m aybe subject toroceedings d/nent revf the tobaccoseller's permM. Appeal:Any person aggay seekrelief therefromd by theGeneral Laws oN EnforcemeEnforcement of this Regu lation shall be by the C anton Board o f Health, theCanton P olice Department, or its designated agent(s).0. Effective Date:This Regulation shall take effect on January 1, 2014P. Sunset Provision:This Reg ulation shall be subject to a "Sun set Provision" which shall take effect atmidnight on D ecember 3 1, 201,which provides that the definition of a m inor inSection C as, "Any individual who is under the age of twe nty-one (21) years"and shall automatically be replaced with the definition of a m inor as, "Anyindividual who is under the age of eighteen (18) years" unless the SunsetProvision is voided or otherwise annulled pursuant to Section Q of thisRegulation.

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Q.Automatic Reenactment of this Regulation:For the "Sunset Provision" in Section "P" of this Regu lation to take place byDecember 31, 2018, and prior to the initial promulgation of this Regulation, theCanton Bo ard of Health shall conduct or cause to be con ducted a baseline risksurvey on Canton students under the age of eighteen (18) in the Canton M iddleSchool and Canton H igh School on tobacco and nicotine consumption andacquisition behaviors. The Board of H ealth shall annually conduct this samesurvey within the same school grades to determine by Decem ber 31, 2018, if thisRegulation has had a positive effect (reduced consumption and/or acquisition),negative effect (increased consumption and/or acquisition), or neutral effect (nochange in con sumption and/or acquisition) on the studied behaviors asdetermined solely by the C anton Board of H ealth. If the Board of Healthdetermines that the survey demonstrates that there is a positive effect to thisRegulation showing there has been a reduction of tobacco and n icotine useresulting from the increase in the age of a minor to legally purchase cigarettesand other tobacco products and nicotine delivery products from eighteen (18)years to twenty-one (21), the definition of a m inor in Section C shall beautomatically re-enacted and the Sunset Provision shall not transpire. A negativeor neutral outcome would n ot produce an autom atic re-enactment of thisRegulation.R. Severability:This Regulation is severable. If any provision of this Regulation is declaredinvalid or unenforceable, the other provisions shall not be affected thereby butshall continue in full force and effect.

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canton, ma ordinance to senselessly ban e-cigarette sales

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