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Helena City Commission passes updated tobacco ordinance

Posted at 1:26 PM, Nov 20, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-20 19:15:57-05

HELENA- The Helena City Commission updated its tobacco ordinance Monday night to ban self-service tobacco and e-cigarette displays in some businesses.

The new measure also prohibits possession by the purchaser prior to payment in the affected businesses

The ordinance was amended following the first reading in October.

The amendment exempts businesses that are age restricted and don’t allow minors under the age of 18.

Several people spoke in favor of the ordinance and said they wished it went farther. No one spoke against changes.

Commissioners voted unanimously to pass the changes.

Businesses found violating the new rules will receive a warning letter within 60 days of the ordinance taking effect. After that, a business could face fines of up to 500 dollars for a first offense.