HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1484        FILED ON: 1/16/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3778

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

David M. Nangle

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to the sale of flavored vaping products.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1484        FILED ON: 1/16/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3778

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act relative to the sale of flavored vaping products.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to establish forthwith the regulation of the sale of flavored vaping products, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health.
 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1 . Section 6 of chapter 270 is hereby amended by inserting, before the definition of “Manufacturer”, the following 2 definitions:-

“Characterizing flavor”, a distinguishable taste or aroma, other than the taste or aroma of tobacco, , imparted or detectable either prior to or during consumption of a tobacco product or component part thereof, including, but not limited to, tastes or aromas relating to any menthol, mint, wintergreen, fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb or spice; provided, however, that no tobacco product shall be determined to have a characterizing flavor solely because of the provision of ingredient information or the use of additives or flavorings that do not contribute to the distinguishable taste or aroma of the product.

“Flavored tobacco product”, a tobacco product or component part thereof that contains a constituent that has or produces a characterizing flavor. A public statement, claim or indicia made or disseminated by the manufacturer of a tobacco product, or by any person authorized or permitted by the manufacturer to make or disseminate public statements concerning such tobacco product, that such tobacco product has or produces a characterizing flavor shall constitute presumptive evidence that the tobacco product is a flavored tobacco product.

SECTION 2. Said section 6 of said chapter 270 as amended by section 9 of chapter 157 of the acts of 2018, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “product”, in line 17, the following words:- ; and shall also include a flavored tobacco product.

SECTION 3. Said section 6 of said chapter 270 is hereby further amended by inserting after subsection (b) the following subsection:-

(b½) No person, except a retail tobacco store, a licensee with an all alcoholic beverages license under section 15 of chapter 138 on such premises or smoking bar, shall sell a flavored tobacco product, as that term is defined in section 22, in a location where minors are able to enter at any time: For example, the entire retail establishment or an area within the retail establishment; or where minors can purchase a flavored tobacco product electronically or online without independent, third-party act and identity verification services that compare customer information against third-party data sources, such as public records.