§ 58-92-15. Test method and performance standard. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 58‑92‑15.  Testmethod and performance standard.

(a)        Except as providedin subsection (o) of this section, no cigarettes may be sold or offered forsale in this State or offered for sale or sold to persons located in this Stateunless the cigarettes have been tested in accordance with the test method andmeet the performance standard specified in this section, a writtencertification has been filed by the manufacturer with the Commissioner inaccordance with G.S. 58‑92‑20, and the cigarettes have been markedin accordance with G.S. 58‑92‑25.

(b)        Testing ofcigarettes shall be conducted in accordance with the American Society ofTesting and Materials (ASTM) standard E2187‑04, "Standard TestMethod for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes."

(c)        Testing shall beconducted on 10 layers of filter paper.

(d)        No more than twenty‑fivepercent (25%) of the cigarettes tested in a test trial in accordance with thissection shall exhibit full‑length burns. Forty replicate tests shallcomprise a complete test trial for each cigarette tested.

(e)        The performancestandard required by this section shall only be applied to a complete testtrial.

(f)         Writtencertifications shall be based upon testing conducted by a laboratory that hasbeen accredited pursuant to standard ISO/IEC 17025 of the InternationalOrganization for Standardization (IOS) or other comparable accreditationstandard required by the Commissioner.

(g)        Laboratoriesconducting testing in accordance with this section shall implement a qualitycontrol and quality assurance program that includes a procedure that willdetermine the repeatability of the testing results. The repeatability valueshall be no greater than 0.19.

(h)        This section doesnot require additional testing if cigarettes are tested consistent with thisArticle for any other purpose.

(i)         Testing performedor sponsored by the Commissioner to determine a cigarette's compliance with theperformance standard required shall be conducted in accordance with thissection.

(j)         Each cigarettelisted in a certification submitted pursuant to G.S. 58‑92‑20 thatuses lowered permeability bands in the cigarette paper to achieve compliancewith the performance standard set forth in this section shall have at least twonominally identical bands on the paper surrounding the tobacco column. At leastone complete band shall be located at least 15 millimeters from the lightingend of the cigarette. For cigarettes on which the bands are positioned bydesign, there shall be at least two bands fully located at least 15 millimetersfrom the lighting end and 10 millimeters from the filter end of the tobaccocolumn, or 10 millimeters from the labeled end of the tobacco column fornonfiltered cigarettes.

(k)        A manufacturer of acigarette that the Commissioner determines cannot be tested in accordance withthe test method prescribed in subsection (b) of this section shall propose atest method and performance standard for the cigarette to the Commissioner.Upon approval of the proposed test method and a determination by theCommissioner that the performance standard proposed by the manufacturer isequivalent to the performance standard prescribed in subsection (d) of thissection, the manufacturer may employ such test method and performance standardto certify such cigarette pursuant to G.S. 58‑92‑20. If theCommissioner determines that another state has enacted reduced cigaretteignition propensity standards that include a test method and performancestandard that are the same as those contained in this Article, and the Commissionerfinds that the officials responsible for implementing those requirements haveapproved the proposed alternative test method and performance standard for aparticular cigarette proposed by a manufacturer as meeting the fire‑safetystandards of that state's law or regulation under a legal provision comparableto this section, then the Commissioner shall authorize that manufacturer toemploy the alternative test method and performance standard to certify thatcigarette for sale in this State, unless the Commissioner demonstrates areasonable basis why the alternative test should not be accepted under thisArticle. All other applicable requirements of this section shall apply to themanufacturer.

(l)         Each manufacturershall maintain copies of the reports of all tests conducted on all cigarettesoffered for sale for a period of three years and shall make copies of thesereports available to the Commissioner and the Attorney General upon writtenrequest. Any manufacturer who fails to make copies of these reports availablewithin 60 days of receiving a written request shall be subject to a civilpenalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each day after thesixtieth day that the manufacturer does not make such copies available.

(m)       The Commissioner mayadopt a subsequent ASTM Standard Test Method for Measuring the IgnitionStrength of Cigarettes upon a finding that such subsequent method does notresult in a change in the percentage of full‑length burns exhibited byany tested cigarette when compared to the percentage of full‑length burnsthe same cigarette would exhibit when tested in accordance with ASTM StandardE2187‑04 and the performance standard in subsection (d) of this section.

(n)        The Commissionershall review the effectiveness of this section and report every three years tothe General Assembly the Commissioner's findings, and if appropriate,recommendations for legislation to improve the effectiveness of this Article.The report and legislative recommendations shall be submitted no later thanJune 30 following the conclusion of each three‑year period.

(o)        The requirements ofsubsections (a) through (i) of this section shall not prohibit:

(1)        Distributors orretail dealers from selling their existing inventory of cigarettes on or afterJanuary 1, 2010, if the distributor or retail dealer can establish that alltaxes owed on the cigarettes pursuant to Article 2A of Chapter 105 of theGeneral Statutes have been paid prior to January 1, 2010, and the distributoror retail dealer can establish that the inventory was purchased prior toJanuary 1, 2010, in comparable quantity to the inventory purchased during thesame period of the prior year.

(2)        The sale ofcigarettes solely for the purpose of consumer testing.

(p)        The Commissionershall implement this Article in accordance with the implementation andsubstance of the New York Fire Safety Standards for Cigarettes, as it read onAugust 24, 2007.

(q)        No local governmentmay pass any ordinance changing the performance standard set forth in this section. (2007‑451,s. 1; 2009‑490, s. 1.)