STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4171
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 2, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sen. MAYER -- 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 prohibiting the
use of coupons or use of a "price reduction instrument" to lower the
price of certain tobacco products
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that tobacco
2 use is a leading cause of preventable premature death in the United
3 States and the state of New York. Given the substantial human and
4 economic costs associated with tobacco use, New York state has taken
5 numerous steps to reduce tobacco use among adults and to prevent minors
6 from taking up cigarette smoking or using other tobacco products. Howev-
7 er, the legislature finds that the state should take further action to
8 discourage adults and young adults from taking up and continuing to
9 smoke cigarettes, use e-cigarettes, or use other tobacco products.
10 Despite New York state's laws which prohibit the sale of cigarettes
11 and e-cigarettes to children under age 18, tobacco use among young
12 adults persists. According to recent findings, nine out of ten smokers
13 first tried cigarettes by age eighteen, and ninety-nine percent first
14 tried cigarettes by age twenty-six. In addition, a recent report issued
15 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and
16 Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products noted that while ciga-
17 rette use among high school students has declined, it still is a
18 substantial share (9.2%) of the most commonly used tobacco products by
19 these students. Of particular importance, the report notes that e-cigar-
20 ette use tripled among middle and high school students from 2013-2014
21 and that e-cigarette use has surpassed the current use of every other
22 tobacco product overall.
23 The legislature finds that the use of price reduction promotions,
24 especially coupons targeted in mailing, design and marketing to young
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08270-01-1
S. 4171 2
1 adults, results in additional and unwanted incentives for tobacco use.
2 By encouraging purchase by price reduction, these youth-directed
3 promotions unquestionably encourage youth use of tobacco products, and
4 should be disallowed.
5 The legislature hereby declares that enactment of this act is neces-
6 sary to address the persistent availability of low-priced cigarettes and
7 tobacco products targeted to young people in New York state. This act
8 will ban the redemption of coupons and other price reduction instruments
9 in the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products to consumers. Such
10 actions are necessary to discourage the use of tobacco products by youn-
11 ger people in New York state.
12 § 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section
13 1399-bb-1 to read as follows:
14 § 1399-bb-1. Prohibition on the sale of discounted cigarettes and
15 tobacco products. 1. Definitions. As used in this section:
16 (a) "Cigar" means any roll of tobacco for smoking that is wrapped in
17 leaf tobacco or in any substance containing tobacco, with or without a
18 tip or mouthpiece. Cigar does not include a little cigar as defined in
19 this section.
20 (b) "Cigarette" means any roll for smoking made wholly or in part of
21 tobacco or any other substance, irrespective of size or shape and wheth-
22 er or not such tobacco or substance is flavored, adulterated or mixed
23 with any other ingredient, the wrapper or cover of which is made of
24 paper or any other substance or material but is not made in whole or in
25 part of tobacco.
26 (c) "Electronic cigarette" means an electronic device that delivers
27 vapor for inhalation. Electronic cigarette shall include any refill,
28 cartridge, and any other component of an electronic cigarette. The term
29 includes any such device, whether manufactured, distributed, marketed or
30 sold as an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, e-hookah or vape pen, or under
31 any other product name or descriptor. Electronic cigarette shall not
32 include any product approved by the food and drug administration for
33 sale as a drug or medical device.
34 (d) "Little cigar" means any roll of tobacco for smoking that is
35 wrapped in leaf tobacco or in any substance containing tobacco and that
36 weighs no more than four pounds per thousand or has a cellulose acetate
37 or other integrated filter.
38 (e) "Listed price" means the price listed for cigarettes or tobacco
39 products on their packages or on any related shelving, posting, adver-
40 tising or display at the place where the cigarettes or tobacco products
41 are sold or offered for sale, including all applicable taxes.
42 (f) "Person" means any natural person, corporation, partnership, firm,
43 organization or other legal entity.
44 (g) "Price reduction instrument" means any coupon, voucher, rebate,
45 card, paper, note, form, statement, ticket, image, or other issue,
46 whether in paper, digital, or any other form, used for commercial
47 purposes to receive an article, product, service, or accommodation with-
48 out charge or at a discounted price.
49 (h) "Tobacco product" means any product which contains tobacco that is
50 intended for human consumption, including any component, part, or acces-
51 sory of such product. Tobacco product shall include, but not be limited
52 to, any cigar, little cigar, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, roll-your-
53 own tobacco, snus, bidi, snuff, tobacco-containing shisha, or dissolv-
54 able tobacco product. Tobacco product shall not include cigarettes or
55 any product that has been approved by the United States food and drug
56 administration for sale as a tobacco use cessation product or for other
S. 4171 3
1 medical purposes and that is being marketed and sold solely for such
2 purposes.
3 2. Prohibition on the sale of cigarettes for less than the listed
4 price. No person shall:
5 (a) honor or accept a coupon or other price reduction instrument in
6 any transaction related to the sale of cigarettes to a consumer;
7 (b) sell or offer for sale cigarettes to a consumer through any
8 multi-package discount or otherwise provide to a consumer any cigarettes
9 for less than the listed price in exchange for the purchase of any other
10 cigarettes by the consumer;
11 (c) sell, offer for sale, or otherwise provide any product other than
12 cigarettes to a consumer for less than the listed price in exchange for
13 the purchaser of cigarettes by the consumer; or
14 (d) sell, offer for sale, or otherwise provide cigarettes to a consum-
15 er for less than the listed price.
16 3. Prohibition on the sale of tobacco products for less than the list-
17 ed price. No person shall:
18 (a) honor or accept a coupon or other price reduction instrument in
19 any transaction related to the sale of tobacco products to a consumer;
20 (b) sell or offer for sale tobacco products to a consumer through any
21 multi-package discount or otherwise provide to a consumer any tobacco
22 product for less than the listed price in exchange for the purchase of
23 any other tobacco product by the consumer;
24 (c) sell, offer for sale, or otherwise provide any product other than
25 a tobacco product to a consumer for less than the listed price in
26 exchange for the purchase of a tobacco product by the consumer; or
27 (d) sell, offer for sale, or otherwise provide tobacco products to a
28 consumer for less than the listed price.
29 4. Prohibition on the sale of electronic cigarettes for less than the
30 listed price. No person shall:
31 (a) honor or accept a coupon or other price reduction instrument in
32 any transaction related to the sale of an electronic cigarette to a
33 consumer;
34 (b) sell or offer for sale electronic cigarettes to a consumer through
35 any multi-package discount or otherwise provide to a consumer any tobac-
36 co product for less than the listed price in exchange for the purchase
37 of any other electronic cigarettes by the consumer;
38 (c) sell, offer for sale, or otherwise provide any product other than
39 an electronic cigarette to a consumer for less than the listed price in
40 exchange for the purchase of an electronic cigarette by the consumer; or
41 (d) sell, offer for sale, or otherwise provide electronic cigarettes
42 to a consumer for less than the listed price.
43 5. Rules. The commissioner or his or her delegate shall promulgate
44 any rules as may be necessary or desirable for the purpose of carrying
45 out this section.
46 6. Enforcement and penalties. (a) Whenever there shall be a violation
47 of this section, an application may be made by the attorney general in
48 the name of the people of the state of New York, to a court or justice
49 having jurisdiction by a special proceeding to issue an injunction, and
50 upon notice to the defendant of not less than five days, to enjoin and
51 restrain the continuance of such violation; and if it shall appear to
52 the satisfaction of the court or justice that the defendant has, in
53 fact, violated this section, an injunction may be issued by the court or
54 justice, enjoining and restraining any further violations, without
55 requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged
56 thereby. In any such proceeding, the court may make allowances to the
S. 4171 4
1 attorney general as provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of
2 section eighty-three hundred three of the civil practice law and rules,
3 and direct restitution. Whenever the court shall determine that a
4 violation of this section has occurred, the court may impose a civil
5 penalty in the following amounts:
6 (1) up to one thousand dollars for a first violation within a five-
7 year period;
8 (2) up to two thousand dollars for a second violation within a five-
9 year period; and
10 (3) up to five thousand dollars for a third violation within a five-
11 year period.
12 (b) No person shall be liable under this section for more than one
13 violation of any of subdivisions two or three of this section during a
14 single day.
15 (c) In connection with any application as described in paragraph (a)
16 of this subdivision, the attorney general is authorized to take proof
17 and make a determination of the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in
18 accordance with the civil practice law and rules.
19 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
20 have become a law.
