CHEYENNE, Wyo. – During the upcoming budget session, the Wyoming Legislature will consider a bill that would require age verification for remote sales of nicotine products, prohibiting such sales to anyone under 21.
This bill would also specify shipping requirements for nicotine products and amend definitions regarding “electronic cigarettes” and “vapor material”.
If this bill is passed it would prohibit vendors from selling nicotine products through the internet or other remote methods unless the the seller performs an age verification on the purchaser through an independent third party age verification service.
The proposed legislation says that “the age verification service utilized shall compare information available from public records to the personal information entered by the purchaser during the ordering process to establish that the purchaser is twenty‑one (21) years of age or older.”
The bill says that a vendor may not sell to a buyer the unless the seller uses a method of mailing or shipping that, once delivered requires the signature of a person at least twenty‑one (21) years of age before the tobacco product will be released.
According to the bill a seller could also choose to implement protections where a buyer wouldn’t have to provide identification to prove they were 21- years of age upon delivery.
Those protections are:
- The purchaser would be required to create an online profile or account with personal information verifying that the purchaser is at least twenty‑one years of age including, but not limited to, the purchaser’s name, address and a valid phone number, if that personal information is verified by the seller through publicly available records and delivery is made to the same name and address;
or
- The purchaser is required to upload a copy of their government issued identification and a current photograph of the purchaser. This would be required to verify that the purchaser is at least twenty‑one years of age and that delivery is being made to the same name and address listed on the identification provided.
The other aim of this proposed bill would be to modify definitions to how “Electronic Cigarettes” are described.
Electronic cigarettes would be defined as “Any device that can be used to deliver aerosolized or vaporized nicotine material to the person using the device and includes any component, part and accessory of the device and any vapor material intended to be aerosolized or vaporized during the use of the device. ‘Electronic cigarette’ includes, without limitation, any electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, electronic pipe, electronic hooka, vapor pen and any similar product or device.”
The proposed legislation says that vapor material would mean “any liquid solution or other material containing nicotine that is depleted as an electronic cigarette is used. ‘Vapor material’ includes liquid solution or other material containing nicotine that is sold with or inside an electronic cigarette.”
If passed this bill were to pass the new laws would go in effect on July 1st, 2020.
The proposed legislation is sponsored by the Joint Revenue Intertim Committee. The Wyoming Legislature will begin their budget session on Feb. 10.
