The Board of Commissioners of the Township of
Lower Merion hereby finds that:
A. The Surgeon General of the United States has called
for a ban on the sale of cigarettes by vending machines.
B. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has banned the sale
or furnishing of cigarettes or tobacco in any form to minors under
the age of 18.
C. The presence of cigarette vending machines permits
indiscriminate sales of cigarettes to minors, not preventable by any
assured means of enforcement.
D. No penalty has been imposed by commonwealth statute
upon minors for the purchase of cigarettes; rather, penalties are
imposed only on the seller.
[Amended 1-19-1994 by Ord. No. 3345]
A. No person, firm, corporation or association shall
own, operate, rent or permit the use of a cigarette vending machine
on premises under such entity's control in the Township of Lower Merion
except as provided herein.
B. Any person violating the provision of §
90-11.2A shall be subject to a fine of $500 for each such violation. No person, firm, corporation or association which owns a cigarette vending machine or which owns a place of business within which a cigarette vending machine is placed for use by the public or which has control over a cigarette vending machine placed for use by the public shall permit, authorize or otherwise allow such machine:
(1) To be operated by a minor;
(2) To be placed at a location except as permitted by
this article;
(3) To remain unmonitored in violation hereof; or
(4) To be operated unless a sign is conspicuously posted
thereon declaring that tobacco products may not be sold to persons
under 18 years of age.
C. Cigarette vending machines may be located in establishments
which exclude minors as expected personnel or customers, including
but not limited to bars, beer distributors and work areas not generally
open to the public. In these establishments, cigarette vending machines
shall not be located within entranceways.
D. Cigarette vending machines may be located in an eating
and drinking place, as defined in this chapter, and in gasoline service
stations if they are located where there is an unobstructed and uninterrupted
view of the machine by the facility owner, operator or their designee,
who shall monitor the machine at all times. In such establishments
cigarette vending machines shall not be located in public rest rooms
or entranceways.
E. Any person, firm, corporation, association, facility
owner or operator or the designee thereof violating the provisions
of this section shall be subject to a fine for each such violation
occurring on a premises under such entity's control of $100 for the
first violation, $250 for the second violation, $500 for the third
violation and $1,000 for each subsequent violation. Each day a cigarette
vending machine is located in violation of this section shall be considered
a separate offense.
[Added 1-19-1994 by Ord. No. 3345]
The permit requirements and provisions provided in Article
V hereof for food and beverage vending machines shall apply as well to cigarette vending machines.