Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee Statement to Assembly, No. 3992 (1R) (2025)

Summary

An Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee statement to Assembly, No. 3992 [First Reprint], State of New Jersey, dated November 24, 2025, reporting the bill favorably with committee amendments. As amended, the bill bars retailers from selling any "tobacco product," broadly defined to include vapor products and accessories, to a person under 21 years of age. It raises fines from not less than $250 to $750 for a first violation, from not less than $500 to $1,500 for a second, and from $1,000 to $3,000 for later violations, with five percent of penalties going to the Department of Health for education. The Office of Tobacco Control and Prevention is to set up compliance reporting by retail dealers and anonymous violation reporting.

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ASSEMBLY COMMERCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND AGRICULTURE
COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY,
No. 3992

with
committee amendments

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: NOVEMBER
24, 2025

The Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and
Agriculture Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly
Bill No. 3992 (1R).

As amended, this bill increases the penalties for
certain prohibited sales of tobacco and vapor products.

The bill amends current law to revise the prohibition
on the sale of tobacco to persons under the age of 21. Under the bill, no
retailer is to sell to a person under 21 years of age any “tobacco product,”
which is defined in the bill to mean: any product containing, made of, or
derived from tobacco or nicotine that is intended for human consumption or is
likely to be consumed, whether inhaled, absorbed, or ingested by other means,
including, but not limited to, a cigarette, cigar, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco,
snuff, or snus; any vapor product; and any component, part, or accessory of a
product containing, made of, or derived from tobacco or nicotine or a vapor
product, regardless of whether the component, part, or accessory contains
tobacco or nicotine. “Tobacco product” includes, but is not limited to,
filters, rolling papers, blunt or hemp wraps, hookahs, and pipes. “Tobacco
product” does not include any drug, device, or combination product approved by
the federal Food and Drug Administration pursuant to the “Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act,” 21 U.S.C. s.301 et seq.

The bill increases fines for a violation of the above
prohibition from not less than $250 to $750 for the first violation, from not
less than $500 to $1,500 for the second violation, and from $1,000 to $3,000
for the third and each subsequent violation. Five percent of the penalties
recovered under the bill are to be transferred to the Department of Health and
are to be used by the department to fund educational programs and outreach
initiatives to inform the public, retailers, and minors of the dangers of vapor
products and the consequences of selling or using vapor products illegally.
The bill further specifies that penalties for certain violations of the law
concerning the sale and public use of tobacco products and vapor products be
paid to the entity responsible for enforcement for the municipality in which
the violation occurs.

The bill provides that the Office of Tobacco Control
and Prevention in the Department of Health (office) is
to establish a process by which retail dealers report to the office efforts
on behalf of the retail dealer to comply with the above prohibition. The office
is to also establish a mechanism by which an individual may anonymously report
to the office a violation of the above prohibition.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS :

The committee amendments provide that:

1) penalties for certain violations of the law
concerning the sale and public use of tobacco products and vapor products be
paid to the entity responsible for enforcement for the municipality in which
the violation occurs rather than into the treasury of the municipality for
general use by the municipality; and

2) the Office of Tobacco Control and Prevention in
the Department of Health is to establish a process by which retail dealers
report efforts to comply with certain provisions of the bill and a mechanism by
which an individual may anonymously report certain violations of the bill’s
provisions.

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