Mayor Nutter Signs Bill Increasing Finds for Selling Tobacco Products to Kids

Philadelphia, December 23, 2010- Mayor Nutter signed a new bill which increases the penalty for merchants who illegally sell tobacco to youth from $100 to $250. The new bill also provides Municipal Courts discretion to assess a minimum fine of $300 to a maximum of $2,000 for merchants who default on the original $250 fine. Mayor Nutter also detailed the City’s new campaign to encourage smokers to kick the habit.

Bill 100634, which was sponsored by Councilwoman Marian Tasco and approved by a 15-0 City Council vote, requires merchants who violate the new City Ordinance to attend one-on-one information sessions that will provide tips on checking identification and how to refuse sales to minors. The Ordinance will also provide the City authority to close a business for 48 hours if that merchant sells tobacco to a minor three times in two years. The City may assess on-the-spot penalties to violating merchants and will post the names of businesses that are cited for illegal tobacco sales to minors on the Department of Public Health’s website.