§132C-3 Cigarettes; reduced ignition propensity; manufacturer testing. (a) Except as provided in sections 132C-7 and 132C-8, no cigarettes may be sold or offered for sale in this State or offered for sale or sold to persons located in this State unless the cigarettes have been tested in accordance with the test method and meet the performance standard specified in this section, and the manufacturer has filed a written certification with the state fire council in accordance with section 132C-4(a) and the cigarettes have been marked in accordance with section 132C-4(b).

(1) Testing of cigarettes shall be conducted in accordance with the American Society of Testing and Materials standard E2187-04 "Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes". The state fire council may adopt as rules pursuant to chapter 91, a subsequent American Society of Testing and Materials Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes upon a finding that the subsequent method does not result in a change in the percentage of full-length burns exhibited by any tested cigarette when compared to the percentage of full-length burns the same cigarette would exhibit when tested in accordance with American Society of Testing and Materials standard E2187-04 and the performance standard of this section;

(2) Testing of cigarettes shall be conducted on ten layers of filter paper;

(3) No more than twenty-five per cent of the cigarettes tested in a test trial shall exhibit full-length burns. Forty replicate tests shall constitute a complete test trial for each cigarette tested;

(4) The performance standard required by this section shall only be applied to a complete test trial;

(5) Written certifications shall be based upon testing conducted by a laboratory that has been accredited pursuant to standard ISO/IEC 17025 of the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission, or other comparable accreditation standard required by the state fire council;

(6) Laboratories that conduct tests in accordance with this section shall implement a quality control and quality assurance program that includes a procedure to determine the repeatability of the testing results. The repeatability value shall be no greater than 0.19;

(7) Each cigarette listed in a certification that uses lowered permeability bands in the cigarette paper to achieve compliance with the performance standard in this section shall have at least two nominally identical bands on the paper surrounding the tobacco column. At least one complete band shall be located at least fifteen millimeters from the lighting end of the cigarette. For cigarettes on which the bands are positioned by design, there shall be at least two bands located at least fifteen millimeters from the lighting end and ten millimeters from the filter end of the tobacco column. In the case of an unfiltered cigarette, the two complete bands shall be located at least fifteen millimeters from the lighting end and ten millimeters from the labeled end of the tobacco column; and

(8) The manufacturer of a cigarette that the state fire council determines cannot be tested in accordance with the test method required by this section shall propose to the state fire council a test method and performance standard for that cigarette. The state fire council may approve a test method and performance standard that the state fire council determines is equivalent to the requirement of this section, and the manufacturer may use that test method and performance standard for certification pursuant to section 132C-4. If the state fire council determines that another state has enacted reduced cigarette ignition propensity standards that include a test method and performance standard that are the same as those contained in this chapter, and the state fire council finds that the officials responsible for implementing those requirements have approved the proposed alternative test method and performance standard for a particular cigarette proposed by a manufacturer as meeting the fire safety standards of that state's law or regulation under a legal provision comparable to this section, then the state fire council shall authorize that manufacturer to employ the alternative test method and performance standard to certify that cigarette for sale in this State, unless the state fire council demonstrates a reasonable basis why the alternative test should not be accepted. All other applicable requirements of this section shall apply to the manufacturer.

(b) A manufacturer shall retain copies of the reports of testing conducted on cigarettes offered for sale in the State for a period of three years. The manufacturer shall provide copies of these reports to the state fire council and the attorney general upon written request. Any manufacturer who fails to make copies of these reports available within sixty days of receiving a written request shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each day after the sixtieth day that the manufacturer does not make the copies available.

(c) This section shall not require additional testing if cigarettes are tested consistent with this chapter for any other purpose.

(d) Testing performed or sponsored by the state fire council to determine a cigarette's compliance with the performance standard required by this section shall be conducted in accordance with this section.

(e) The state fire council shall review the effectiveness of this section and report every three years to the legislature the state fire council's findings and, if appropriate, recommendations for legislation to improve the effectiveness of this chapter. The report and legislative recommendations shall be submitted no later than June 30 following the conclusion of each three-year period. [L 2008, c 218, pt of §1]