2021 Georgia Code
Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses
Chapter 12 - Offenses Against Public Health and Morals
Article 7 - Sale or Distribution To, or Possession By, Minors of Cigarettes and Tobacco Related Objects
§ 16-12-171. Prohibited Acts

1. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to:
      1. Sell or barter, directly or indirectly, any cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products to any individual under the age of 21 years;
      2. Purchase any cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products for any individual under the age of 21 years; or
      3. Advise, counsel, or compel any individual under the age of 21 years to smoke, inhale, chew, or use cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products.
   2. 1. The prohibition contained in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply with respect to sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products by a person when such person has been furnished with proper identification showing that the individual to whom the cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products are sold is 21 years of age or older.
      2. In any case when a reasonable or prudent person could reasonably be in doubt as to whether or not the individual to whom cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products are to be sold or otherwise furnished is actually 21 years of age or older, it shall be the duty of the person selling or otherwise furnishing such cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products to request to see and to be furnished with proper identification as provided for in subsection (b) of this Code section in order to verify the age of such individual. The failure to make such request and verification in any case when the individual to whom the cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products are sold or otherwise furnished is less than 21 years of age may be considered by the trier of fact in determining whether the person selling or otherwise furnishing such cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products did so knowingly.
   3. Any person that violates this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
2. 1. It shall be unlawful for any individual under the age of 21 years to:
      1. Purchase, attempt to purchase, or possess for personal use any cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products; or
      2. Misrepresent his or her identity or age or use any false identification for the purpose of purchasing or procuring any cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products.
   2. An individual under the age of 21 years who commits an offense provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection or paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of this Code section shall be punished as follows:
      1. By requiring the performance of community service not exceeding 20 hours that may be related to the awareness of the health hazards of smoking and vaping or tobacco and vapor product use;
      2. By requiring attendance at a publicly or privately sponsored lecture or discussion on the health hazards of smoking and vaping or tobacco and vapor product use, provided that such lecture or discussion is offered without charge to the individual under the age of 21 years;
      3. When an individual under the age of 21 years fails to comply with such imposed community service, or for a third or subsequent violation within the same calendar year as the first violation, by requiring the Department of Driver Services to withhold issuance of or to suspend the driver's license or driving privilege of such individual for a period of 45 consecutive days; or
      4. By a combination of the punishments described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of this paragraph.
3. 1. It shall be unlawful for any individual to knowingly use a vapor product within a school safety zone. As used in this subsection, the term "school safety zone" shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 16-11-127.1.
   2. Any individual who is 21 years of age or older who commits the offense provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; provided, however, that for a conviction of a first offense, such individual shall be punished by a fine of $25.00 and for a conviction of a second offense, such individual shall be punished by a fine of $50.00. The provisions of Chapter 11 of Title 17 and any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the costs of any prosecution for such first or second offense shall not be taxed nor shall any additional penalty, fee, or surcharge to a fine for such offense be assessed against an individual for conviction thereof.
   3. Any vapor product used in violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection is declared to be contraband, and no person shall have a property right in it. In addition to persons authorized to seize property pursuant to Code Section 9-16-6, property which is subject to forfeiture under this subsection may be seized by any special agent or enforcement officer of the state revenue commissioner. Any property which is subject to forfeiture under this subsection shall be forfeited in accordance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 16 of Title 9.

(Code 1981, §16-12-171, enacted by Ga. L. 1987, p. 945, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 343, § 2; Ga. L. 1996, p. 483, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 81, § 16; Ga. L. 2004, p. 332, § 1; Ga. L. 2007, p. 497, § 1/SB 95; Ga. L. 2014, p. 130, § 2/HB 251; Ga. L. 2020, p. 257, § 1/SB 375; Ga. L. 2021, p. 922, § 16/HB 497.)

The 2020 amendment, effective July 22, 2020, rewrote subsections (a) and (b) and added subsection (c).

The 2021 amendment, effective May 10, 2021, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, inserted a comma following "subsection" in the second sentence of paragraph (c)(1).

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1987, "subparagraphs (A) and (B)" was substituted for "subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)" in subparagraph (b)(2)(C).

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2020, a period was deleted at the end of subparagraph (b)(1)(A).

- For review of 1996 offenses against public health and morals legislation, see 13 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 121 (1996).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Evidence sufficient for furnishing e-cigarette to minor.

- Since the state presented the same information contained in the product label from sources separate and distinct from the label itself, taken as a whole, there was sufficient evidence from which the trial judge was authorized to infer the defendant guilty of furnishing a vapor product containing nicotine for use with a noncombustible electronic cigarette to a minor. Childers v. State, 358 Ga. App. 568, 855 S.E.2d 766 (2021).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Fingerprintable offenses.

- O.C.G.A. § 16-12-171, prohibiting the sale of cigarettes or other tobacco products to minors, and the possession of tobacco products by minors, are not at this time designated as offenses which require fingerprinting. 1987 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 87-21.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Validity, construction, and application of state and local laws providing for civil liability for tobacco sales or distribution to minors, 66 A.L.R.6th 315.