Relates to establishing restrictions on the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building; prohibits the sale of over-the-counter diet pills or dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building to people under 18; exempts certain protein powders, protein drinks and foods.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5823--C
Cal. No. 663
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 17, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. MAYER, HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered
printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer
Protection -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first
and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered
reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to establishing
restrictions on the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary
supplements for weight loss or muscle building
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
2 391-oo to read as follows:
3 § 391-oo. Sale of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements
4 for weight loss or muscle building. 1. For purposes of this section the
5 following terms shall have the following meanings:
6 (a) "Dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building" means a
7 class of dietary supplement as defined in section three hundred ninety-
8 one-o of this article that is labeled, marketed, or otherwise repres-
9 ented for the purpose of achieving weight loss or muscle building, but
10 shall not include protein powders, protein drinks and foods marketed as
11 containing protein unless the protein powder, protein drink or food
12 marketed as containing protein contains an ingredient other than protein
13 which would, considered alone, constitute a dietary supplement for
14 weight loss or muscle building.
15 (b) "Over-the-counter diet pills" means a class of drugs labeled,
16 marketed, or otherwise represented for the purpose of achieving weight
17 loss that are lawfully sold, transferred, or furnished over-the-counter
18 with or without a prescription pursuant to the federal food, drug, and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02273-13-3
S. 5823--C 2
1 cosmetic act, 21 U.S.C. section 301 et seq., or regulations adopted
2 thereunder.
3 (c) "Retail establishment" means any vendor that, in the regular
4 course of business, sells dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle
5 building or over-the-counter diet pills at retail directly to the
6 public, including, but not limited to, pharmacies, grocery stores, other
7 retail stores, and vendors that accept orders placed by mail, telephone,
8 electronic mail, internet website, online catalog, or software applica-
9 tion.
10 (d) "Delivery sale" means any sale of over-the-counter diet pills or
11 dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building to a consumer if:
12 (i) the consumer submits the order for the sale by means of a tele-
13 phone or other method of voice transmission, mail, or the internet or
14 other online service, or the seller is otherwise not in the physical
15 presence of the buyer when the request for purchase or order is made; or
16 (ii) the over-the-counter diet pills or dietary supplements for weight
17 loss or muscle building are delivered to the buyer by common carrier,
18 private delivery service, or other method of remote delivery, or the
19 seller is not in the physical presence of the buyer when the buyer
20 obtains possession of the over-the-counter diet pills or dietary supple-
21 ments for weight loss or muscle building.
22 (e) "Delivery seller" means a vendor, including online retailers, who
23 makes delivery sales of over-the-counter diet pills or dietary supple-
24 ments for weight loss or muscle building. Such vendors shall include
25 persons who accept orders placed by mail, telephone, electronic mail,
26 internet website, online catalog, or software application.
27 2. No person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited
28 liability company, or other entity shall sell or offer to sell or give
29 away, as either a retail or wholesale promotion, an over-the-counter
30 diet pill or dietary supplement for weight loss or muscle building with-
31 in this state to any person under eighteen years of age. Retail estab-
32 lishments shall require proof of legal age for purchase of such
33 products. For purposes of this section, proof of legal age shall mean
34 (a) a valid driver's license or non-driver's identification card issued
35 by the commissioner of motor vehicles, the federal government, any
36 United States territory, commonwealth or possession, the District of
37 Columbia, a state government within the United States, a provincial
38 government of the dominion of Canada, or the city of New York, or (b) a
39 valid passport issued by the United States government or any other coun-
40 try, or (c) an identification card issued by the armed forces of the
41 United States, indicating that the individual is at least eighteen years
42 of age, or (d) a student identification card, provided such card indi-
43 cates the date of birth of the individual. Such identification need not
44 be required of any individual who reasonably appears to be at least
45 twenty-five years of age; provided, however, that such appearance shall
46 not constitute a defense in any proceeding alleging the sale of any
47 over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or
48 muscle building to an individual under eighteen years of age.
49 3. (a) Any person operating a retail establishment may perform a tran-
50 saction scan as a precondition for the purchase of over-the-counter diet
51 pills or dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building.
52 (b) In any instance where the information deciphered by the trans-
53 action scan fails to match the information printed on the driver's
54 license or non-driver identification card, or if the transaction scan
55 indicates that the information is false or fraudulent, the attempted
56 transaction shall be denied.
S. 5823--C 3
1 (c) In any proceeding pursuant to subdivision five of this section, it
2 shall be an affirmative defense that such person had produced a driver's
3 license or non-driver identification card apparently issued by a govern-
4 mental entity, successfully completed that transaction scan, and that
5 over-the-counter diet pills or dietary supplements for weight loss of
6 muscle building were sold, delivered or given to such person in reason-
7 able reliance upon such identification and transaction scan. In evalu-
8 ating the applicability of such affirmative defense, the court shall
9 take into consideration any written policy adopted and implemented by
10 the seller to effectuate the provisions of this section. Use of a trans-
11 action scan shall not excuse any person operating a retail establishment
12 from the exercise of reasonable diligence otherwise required by this
13 section.
14 (d) A retail establishment or employee of such establishment shall
15 only use a device capable of deciphering any electronically readable
16 format, and shall only use the information recorded and maintained
17 through the use of such devices, for the purposes contained in this
18 subdivision. No retail establishment or employee of such establishment
19 shall resell or disseminate the information recorded during such a scan
20 to any third person. Such prohibited resale or dissemination includes
21 but is not limited to any advertising, marketing or promotional activ-
22 ities. Notwithstanding the restrictions imposed by this subdivision,
23 such records may be released pursuant to a court ordered subpoena or
24 pursuant to any other statute that specifically authorizes the release
25 of such information. Each violation of this subdivision shall be punish-
26 able by a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars.
27 (e) A retail establishment or employee of such establishment may elec-
28 tronically or mechanically record and maintain only the information from
29 a transaction scan necessary to effectuate this section. Such informa-
30 tion shall be limited to the following: (i) name, (ii) date of birth,
31 (iii) driver's license or non-driver identification number, and (iv)
32 expiration date.
33 4. Notwithstanding subdivision two of this section, a delivery seller,
34 including an online retailer, who mails or ships over-the-counter diet
35 pills or dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building to
36 consumers:
37 (a) shall not sell, deliver, or cause to be delivered any over-the-
38 counter diet pills or dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle
39 building to a person under eighteen years of age; and
40 (b) shall use a method of mailing or shipping:
41 (i) that requires the purchaser placing the delivery sale order, or an
42 adult who is at least eighteen years of age to sign to accept delivery
43 of the shipping container at the delivery address; and
44 (ii) that requires the person who signs to accept delivery of the
45 shipping container to provide proof, in the form of a valid, govern-
46 ment-issued identification bearing a photograph of the individual, that
47 the person is at least eighteen years of age.
48 5. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application
49 may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of the
50 state of New York, to a court or justice having jurisdiction by a
51 special proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the
52 defendant of not less than five days, to enjoin and restrain the contin-
53 uance of such violation; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of
54 the court or justice that the defendant has, in fact, violated this
55 section, an injunction may be issued by the court or justice, enjoining
56 and restraining any further violations, without requiring proof that any
S. 5823--C 4
1 person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby. Whenever a court
2 shall determine that a violation of this section has occurred, the court
3 may impose a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars.
4 6. When determining whether an over-the-counter diet pill or dietary
5 supplement is labeled, marketed, or otherwise represented for the
6 purpose of achieving weight loss or muscle building, the court shall
7 consider, but is not limited to, the following factors:
8 (a) whether the product contains:
9 (i) an ingredient approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration
10 for weight loss or muscle building;
11 (ii) a steroid; or
12 (iii) creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, garcinia cambo-
13 gia, green coffee bean extract;
14 (b) whether the product's labeling or marketing bears statements or
15 images that express or imply that the product will help:
16 (i) modify, maintain, or reduce body weight, fat, appetite, overall
17 metabolism, or the process by which nutrients are metabolized; or
18 (ii) maintain or increase muscle or strength;
19 (c) whether the product or its ingredients are otherwise represented
20 for the purpose of achieving weight loss or building muscle; or
21 (d) whether the retailer has categorized the dietary supplement for
22 weight loss or muscle building by:
23 (i) placing signs, categorizing, or tagging the supplement with state-
24 ments described in paragraph (b) of this subdivision;
25 (ii) grouping the supplements with other weight loss or muscle build-
26 ing products in a display, advertisement, webpage, or area of the store;
27 or
28 (iii) otherwise representing that the product is for weight loss or
29 muscle building.
30 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
31 it shall have become a law.
