Mo. Rev. Stat. § 320.353 — MO Code / Chapter 320 / Section 320.353
320.353 Cigarettes, testing requirements, standards — manufacturers to maintain ...
Status: in_force

320.353. Cigarettes, testing requirements, standards — manufacturers to maintain copies of testing reports — state fire marshal may adopt subsequent standards, report required. — 1. Except as provided in subsection 7 of this section, no cigarettes shall 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, a written certification has been filed by the manufacturer with the state fire marshal in accordance with section 320.356 , and the cigarettes have been marked in accordance with section 320.359 . The following shall apply to such testing:

(1) Testing of cigarettes shall be conducted in accordance with the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard E2187-04, "Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes";

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

(3) No more than twenty-five percent of the cigarettes tested in a test trial in accordance with this section shall exhibit full-length burns. Forty replicate tests shall comprise 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 under standard ISO/IEC 17025 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), or other comparable accreditation standard required by the state fire marshal;

(6) Laboratories conducting testing in accordance with this section shall implement a quality control and quality assurance program that includes a procedure that will determine the repeatability of the testing results. The repeatability value shall be no greater than nineteen one-hundredths;

(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring additional testing if cigarettes are tested consistent with sections 320.350 to 320.374 for any other purpose;

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

2. Each cigarette listed in a certification submitted under section 320.356 that uses lowered permeability bands in the cigarette paper to achieve compliance with the performance standard set forth 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 fully located at least fifteen millimeters from the lighting end and ten millimeters from the filter end of the tobacco column, or ten millimeters from the labeled end of the tobacco column for nonfiltered cigarettes.

3. A manufacturer of a cigarette that the state fire marshal determines cannot be tested in accordance with the test method described in subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of this section shall propose a test method and performance standard for the cigarette to the state fire marshal. Upon approval of the proposed test method and a determination by the state fire marshal that the performance standard proposed by the manufacturer is equivalent to the performance standard prescribed in subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of this section, the manufacturer may employ such test method and performance standard to certify such cigarette under section 320.356 . If the state fire marshal 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 sections 320.350 to 320.374 , and the state fire marshal finds that the officials responsible for implementing such 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, the state fire marshal shall authorize such manufacturer to employ the alternative test method and performance standard to certify that cigarette for sale in this state, unless the state fire marshal demonstrates a reasonable basis why the alternative test should not be accepted under sections 320.350 to 320.374 . All other applicable requirements of this section shall apply to the manufacturer.

4. Each manufacturer shall maintain copies of the reports of all tests conducted on all cigarettes offered for sale for a period of three years, and shall make copies of such reports available to the state fire marshal and the state attorney general upon written request. Any manufacturer who fails to make copies of such reports available within sixty days of receiving a written request shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars for each day after the sixtieth day that the manufacturer does not make such copies available.

5. The state fire marshal may adopt a subsequent ASTM Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes upon a finding that such 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 ASTM Standard E2187-04 and the performance standard in subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of this section.

6. The state fire marshal shall review the effectiveness of this section and report every three years to the general assembly the state fire marshal's findings and, if appropriate, recommendations for legislation to improve the effectiveness of sections 320.350 to 320.374 . The report and legislative recommendations shall be submitted by June thirtieth following the conclusion of each three-year period.

7. The requirements of this section shall not prohibit:

(1) Wholesalers or retailers from selling their existing inventory of cigarettes on or after January 1, 2011, if the wholesaler or retailer can establish that state tax stamps were affixed to the cigarettes prior to January 1, 2011, and the wholesaler or retailer can establish that the inventory was purchased prior to January 1, 2011; or

(2) The sale of cigarettes solely for the purpose of consumer testing. For purposes of this subdivision, "consumer testing" means an assessment of cigarettes that is conducted by a manufacturer, or under the control and direction of a manufacturer, for the purpose of evaluating consumer acceptance of such cigarettes, utilizing only the quantity of cigarettes that is reasonably necessary for such assessment.

8. The cigarette testing, performance standard, and packaging provisions in sections 320.350 to 320.374 shall be implemented in a manner to obtain uniformity with the laws of those states that have enacted reduced cigarette ignition propensity standards as of January 1, 2011.

(L. 2009 H.B. 205) Effective 1-01-11 Contingent termination date, see section 320.374