New Jersey Law Makes it Illegal to Sell Tobacco Products to Minors

A new New Jersey law, Section 2C:33-13.1, makes it illegal to sell cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or other tobacco products to anyone under the age of 19. This law, which took effect in 2017, upgraded the violation from a disorderly persons offense to a petty disorderly persons offense, increasing the penalties for breaking this law.

As a New Jersey resident, it’s important to understand what this law means and the implications it has for retailers, minors, and public health. This article will provide an overview of the key components of the law, penalties for violating it, defenses that can be used, and the rationale behind its enactment.

What the Law States

Section 2C:33-13.1 specifically prohibits the sale or distribution of cigarettes, electronic smoking devices (such as e-cigarettes and vapes), and other tobacco products to individuals under 19 years old[1]. This applies to all tobacco retailers in New Jersey.

The law previously made it illegal to sell to minors under 18. But in 2017, the legal age was increased to 21 years old under New Jersey P.L. 2017, c.118[5]. This change brought the state in alignment with federal regulations.

Penalties for Violations

Under the statute, selling tobacco products to minors is now classified as a petty disorderly persons offense[2]. This ups the violation from a regular disorderly persons offense.

For a first offense, violators face a fine of up to $500. Fines double for subsequent violations, up to $1,000[4]. Courts also have discretion to suspend or revoke a retail license for repeat violations.

In addition to fines, sellers face additional penalties if minors are caught in possession of or using tobacco products on premises. This carries an additional $250 fine for first offenses, and $500 for subsequent offenses[4].

Defenses for Tobacco Retailers

While the law is strict about prohibiting sales to minors, it does provide some defenses for retailers who are caught violating it:

• The minor presented fraudulent identification showing they were of legal age to purchase tobacco products[3].
• A retailer can avoid liability if they had an internal training program in place to prevent illegal sales, and the employee who made the sale had completed the training[3].
• Retailers are not liable if they had reason to believe the minor was over the legal age. However, they may still be charged if they did not take reasonable precautions to verify the purchaser’s age[3].

These defenses give retailers some protections, but they still need robust policies and training in place to avoid violations. Relying on visual judgment of age is risky. Best practice is to ID all young purchasers and check their photo ID against a scanner.