STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4156
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 3, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to including elec-
tronic cigarettes within provisions regulating smoking in certain
public areas
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 8 of section 1399-n of the public health law,
2 as amended by chapter 13 of the laws of 2003, is amended and two new
3 subdivisions 9 and 10 are added to read as follows:
4 8. "Smoking" means the burning of a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe or
5 any other matter or substance which contains tobacco, and the use of an
6 electronic cigarette.
7 9. "Electronic cigarette" or "e-cigarette" shall have the same meaning
8 as in subdivision thirteen of section thirteen hundred ninety-nine-aa of
9 this chapter.
10 10. "Retail electronic cigarette store" means a retail store devoted
11 primarily to the sale of electronic cigarettes, and in which the sale of
12 other products is merely incidental. The sale of such other products
13 shall be considered incidental if such sales generate less than twenty-
14 five percent of the total annual gross sales.
15 § 2. Subdivisions 6 and 7 of section 1399-q of the public health law,
16 as added by chapter 13 of the laws of 2003, are amended and a new subdi-
17 vision 8 is added to read as follows:
18 6. Outdoor dining areas of food service establishments with no roof or
19 other ceiling enclosure; provided, however, that smoking may be permit-
20 ted in a contiguous area designated for smoking so long as such area:
21 (a) constitutes no more than twenty-five percent of the outdoor seating
22 capacity of such food service establishment, (b) is at least three feet
23 away from the outdoor area of such food service establishment not desig-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04219-02-5
S. 4156 2
1 nated for smoking, and (c) is clearly designated with written signage as
2 a smoking area; [and]
3 7. Enclosed rooms in food service establishments, bars, catering
4 halls, convention halls, hotel and motel conference rooms, and other
5 such similar facilities during the time such enclosed areas or rooms are
6 being used exclusively for functions where the public is invited for the
7 primary purpose of promoting and sampling tobacco products or electronic
8 cigarettes, and the service of food and drink is incidental to such
9 purpose, provided that the sponsor or organizer gives notice in any
10 promotional material or advertisements that smoking will not be
11 restricted, and prominently posts notice at the entrance of the facility
12 and has provided notice of such function to the appropriate enforcement
13 officer, as defined in subdivision one of section thirteen hundred nine-
14 ty-nine-t of this article, at least two weeks prior to such function.
15 The enforcement officer shall keep a record of all tobacco sampling
16 events, and such record shall be made available for public inspection.
17 No such facility shall permit smoking under this subdivision for more
18 than two days in any calendar year[.]; and
19 8. Retail electronic cigarette stores, provided however, that such
20 stores may only permit the use of electronic cigarettes.
21 § 3. Subdivision 13 of section 1399-aa of the public health law, as
22 amended by chapter 542 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as
23 follows:
24 13. "Electronic cigarette" or "e-cigarette" means an electronic device
25 that delivers vapor which is inhaled by an individual user, and shall
26 include any refill, cartridge and any other component of such a device.
27 Electronic cigarette shall not include any product approved as a drug or
28 medical device by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
29 § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
30 have become a law.
