Jackson Municipal Code Ch. 8.24 Tobacco Sales Restrictions

"Business"

means any sole proprietorship, joint venture, corporation or other business entity formed for profit making purposes, including retail establishments where goods or services are sold as well as professional corporations and other entities where legal, medical, dental, engineering, architectural or other professional services are delivered.

"City"

means the City of Jackson.

"Employee"

means any person who is employed by any employer in consideration for direct or indirect wages or profit, and any person who volunteers his or her services for a non-profit entity.

"Minor"

means any individual who is less than eighteen years old.

"Non-profit entity"

means any corporation, unincorporated association or other entity created for charitable, philanthropic, educational character-building, political, social or other similar purpose, the net proceeds from the operations of which are committed to the promotion of the objectives or purposes of the entity and not to private gain. A public agency is not a non-profit entity within the meaning of this section.

"Person"

shall mean any individual, partnership, cooperative association, private corporation, personal representative, receiver, trustee, assignee or any other legal entity.

"Self-service merchandising"

means open display of tobacco products and point-of-sale tobaccorelated promotional products that the public has access to without the intervention of an employee.

"Tobacco product"

means any tobacco cigarette, cigar, pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco, snuff or any other form of tobacco which may be utilized for smoking, chewing or other manner of ingestion.

"Tobacco retailer"

shall be any person or governmental entity that operates a store, stand, booth concession, or other place at which sales of tobacco products are made to purchasers for consumption or use.

"Tobacco vending machine"

means any electronic or mechanical device or appliance that operation of which depends upon the insertion of money, whether in coin or paper currency, or other things representative of value, which dispenses or releases a tobacco product.

"Vendor-assisted"

means only a store employee has access to the tobacco product and assists the customer by supplying the product. The customer does not take possession of the product until it is purchased.

(Ord. 621 §1, 2001)

A. No person or business shall engage in the sale of tobacco products without first posting a plainly visible sign at the point of purchase of tobacco products which has the wording similar to: THE SALE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS TO PERSONS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE IS PROHIBITED BY LAW AND SUBJECT TO PENALTIES. PHOTO IDENTIFICATION IS REQUIRED OF PURCHASERS APPEARING TO BE 26 AND YOUNGER. The letters of the sign shall be at least one-quarter inch high.

B. No person, business, tobacco retailer, owner, manager or operator of any establishment subject to the ordinance codified in this chapter shall sell, offer to sell or permit to be sold any tobacco product to an individual without requesting and examining identification of customers appearing to be twenty-six and younger for the purpose of establishing the purchaser's age as eighteen years or greater, unless the seller has some other reasonable basis for determining buyer's age.

C. It shall be unlawful for any person, business or tobacco retailer to sell, permit to be sold, offer for sale or display for sale any tobacco product by means of self-service merchandising or by means other than vendor-assisted sales. Exception: Any business which primarily sells tobacco products and tobacco related products (a tobacco retailer store) is exempt from this section if persons under the age of eighteen are prohibited from entering the tobacco retailer store.

D. No person, business, tobacco retailer or other establishment shall sell or offer for sale cigarettes or other tobacco or smoking products not in the original packaging provided by the manufacturer and with all required health warnings.

E. No person, business or tobacco retailer shall locate, install, keep, maintain or use or permit the location, installation, keeping, maintenance or use on his, her, or its premises any tobacco vending machine for purposes of selling or distributing any tobacco product.

(Ord. 621 §1, 2001)

A. No person or employer shall discharge, refuse to hire or in any manner retaliate against any employee or applicant for employment because such employee or applicant agrees to abide by the provisions of this chapter.

B. No person shall intimidate or threaten any reprisal or effect any reprisal for the purpose of retaliating against another person because such other person seeks to attain compliance with provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 621 §1, 2001)

This chapter shall not be interpreted or constructed to permit tobacco vending machines and distribution of tobacco product samples where they are otherwise restricted by other applicable laws, nor shall this chapter be construed to cause for breach of any pre-existing private contract, or cause for interference with regulations imposed by state or federal law or relation to interstate commerce.

(Ord. 621 §1, 2001)

Any person, business or tobacco retailer who violates any provision of this chapter shall upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a misdemeanor as defined in Section 1.20.010 of this code. The owner, operator or manager of any public place or place of employment within the preview of this chapter shall comply here-with. Such owner, operator or manager shall further post or cause to be posted all signage required by this chapter.

(Ord. 621 §1, 2001)