{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/18.2-371.2_1.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/18.2-371.2_1.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/18.2-371.2_1.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/18.2-371.2_1.html"}],"law_id":84277,"edition_id":1,"section_id":84277,"structure_id":14343,"section_number":"18.2-371.2:1","catch_line":"Prohibiting possession of retail tobacco products and hemp products intended for smoking by a person younger than 21 years of age; seizure","history":"2025, cc. 595, 596.","full_text":"A\n\nNo person younger than 21 years of age shall possess any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to the possession of retail tobacco products or hemp products intended for smoking by a person younger than 21 years of age (i) making a delivery of retail tobacco products or hemp products intended for smoking in pursuance of his employment or (ii) as part of a scientific study being conducted by an organization for the purpose of medical research to further efforts in cigarette and tobacco use prevention and cessation and tobacco product regulation, provided that such medical research has been approved by an institutional review board pursuant to applicable federal regulations or by a research review committee pursuant to Chapter 5.1 (§ 32.1-162.16 et seq.) of Title 32.1. This subsection shall not apply to the possession of any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking by a law-enforcement officer or his agent when the same is necessary in the performance of his duties.B\n\nAny retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2, possessed in violation of this section shall be deemed contraband and may be seized by a law-enforcement officer. Any such product, the lawful possession of which is not established, seized by such officer shall be forfeited and disposed of according to the process described in subdivision A 2 of § 19.2-386.23.C\n\nThe seizure of contraband pursuant to subsection B shall be the sole penalty for a violation of this section.D\n\nThe provisions of this section shall not preclude prosecution under any other statute.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":302124,"text":"No person younger than 21 years of age shall possess any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to the possession of retail tobacco products or hemp products intended for smoking by a person younger than 21 years of age (i) making a delivery of retail tobacco products or hemp products intended for smoking in pursuance of his employment or (ii) as part of a scientific study being conducted by an organization for the purpose of medical research to further efforts in cigarette and tobacco use prevention and cessation and tobacco product regulation, provided that such medical research has been approved by an institutional review board pursuant to applicable federal regulations or by a research review committee pursuant to Chapter 5.1 (§ 32.1-162.16 et seq.) of Title 32.1. This subsection shall not apply to the possession of any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking by a law-enforcement officer or his agent when the same is necessary in the performance of his duties.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":302125,"text":"Any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2, possessed in violation of this section shall be deemed contraband and may be seized by a law-enforcement officer. Any such product, the lawful possession of which is not established, seized by such officer shall be forfeited and disposed of according to the process described in subdivision A 2 of § 19.2-386.23.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":302126,"text":"The seizure of contraband pursuant to subsection B shall be the sole penalty for a violation of this section.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"D"},"3":{"id":302127,"text":"The provisions of this section shall not preclude prosecution under any other statute.","type":"section","prefixes":["D"],"prefix":"D","entire_prefix":"D","prefix_anchor":"D","level":1,"prior_prefix":"C"}},"ancestry":[{"id":14343,"edition_id":1,"name":"Family Offenses; Crimes Against Children, etc","identifier":"4","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":14022,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:47:49","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:47:49","permalink":{"id":167753,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14343,"identifier":"4","token":"18.2\/8\/4","url":"\/18.2\/8\/4\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":14022,"edition_id":1,"name":"Crimes Involving Morals and Decency","identifier":"8","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12972,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:37","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:37","permalink":{"id":167393,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14022,"identifier":"8","token":"18.2\/8","url":"\/18.2\/8\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12972,"edition_id":1,"name":"Crimes and Offenses Generally","identifier":"18.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:05","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:05","permalink":{"id":164139,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12972,"identifier":"18.2","token":"18.2","url":"\/18.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":86356,"structure_id":14343,"section_number":"18.2-362","catch_line":"Person marrying when spouse is living; 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penalty; abandoned infant","url":"\/18.2-371\/","token":"18.2\/8\/4\/18.2-371","metadata":false},{"id":65049,"structure_id":14343,"section_number":"18.2-371.1","catch_line":"Abuse and neglect of children; penalties; abandoned infant","url":"\/18.2-371.1\/","token":"18.2\/8\/4\/18.2-371.1","metadata":false},{"id":68538,"structure_id":14343,"section_number":"18.2-371.2","catch_line":"Prohibiting sale or distribution, etc. of retail tobacco products and hemp products intended for smoking by persons under 21 years of age; civil penalties","url":"\/18.2-371.2\/","token":"18.2\/8\/4\/18.2-371.2","metadata":false},{"id":84277,"structure_id":14343,"section_number":"18.2-371.2:1","catch_line":"Prohibiting possession of retail tobacco products and hemp products intended for smoking by a person younger than 21 years of age; seizure","url":"\/18.2-371.2_1\/","token":"18.2\/8\/4\/18.2-371.2_1","metadata":false},{"id":57919,"structure_id":14343,"section_number":"18.2-371.3","catch_line":"Tattooing or body piercing of minors","url":"\/18.2-371.3\/","token":"18.2\/8\/4\/18.2-371.3","metadata":false},{"id":75915,"structure_id":14343,"section_number":"18.2-371.4","catch_line":"Prohibiting the sale of novelty lighters to juveniles","url":"\/18.2-371.4\/","token":"18.2\/8\/4\/18.2-371.4","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":68538,"structure_id":14343,"section_number":"18.2-371.2","catch_line":"Prohibiting sale or distribution, etc. of retail tobacco products and hemp products intended for smoking by persons under 21 years of age; civil penalties","url":"\/18.2-371.2\/","token":"18.2\/8\/4\/18.2-371.2","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":57919,"structure_id":14343,"section_number":"18.2-371.3","catch_line":"Tattooing or body piercing of minors","url":"\/18.2-371.3\/","token":"18.2\/8\/4\/18.2-371.3","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/18.2-371.2:1\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 2025. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapters 595<\/a> and 596<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":[{"id":68538,"section_number":"18.2-371.2","catch_line":"Prohibiting sale or distribution, etc. of retail tobacco products and hemp products intended for smoking by persons under 21 years of age; civil penalties","order_by":null,"url":"\/18.2-371.2\/"},{"id":68456,"section_number":"32.1-162.16","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/32.1-162.16\/"}],"permalink":{"id":167831,"object_type":"law","relational_id":84277,"identifier":"18.2-371.2:1","token":"18.2\/8\/4\/18.2-371.2_1","url":"\/18.2-371.2_1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/18.2-371.2_1\/","token":"18.2\/8\/4\/18.2-371.2_1","dublin_core":{"Title":"Prohibiting possession of retail tobacco products and hemp products intended for smoking by a person younger than 21 years of age; seizure","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 18.2-371.2:1","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> No person younger than 21 years of age shall possess any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2<\/a>. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to the possession<\/span> of retail tobacco products or hemp products intended for smoking by a person younger than 21 years of age (i) making a delivery of retail tobacco products or hemp products intended for smoking in pursuance of his employment or (ii) as part of a scientific study being conducted by an organization for the purpose of medical research to further efforts in cigarette and tobacco use prevention and cessation and tobacco product regulation, provided that such medical research has been approved by an institutional review board pursuant to applicable federal regulations or by a research review committee pursuant to Chapter 5.1 (§ 32.1-162.16<\/a> et seq.) of Title 32.1. This subsection shall not apply to the possession<\/span> of any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking by a law<\/span>-enforcement officer or his agent when the same is necessary in the performance of his duties. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> Any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2<\/a>, possessed in violation of this section shall be deemed contraband and may be seized by a law<\/span>-enforcement officer. Any such product, the lawful possession<\/span> of which is not established, seized by such officer shall be forfeited and disposed of according to the process described in subdivision A 2 of § 19.2-386.23<\/a>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> The seizure of contraband pursuant to subsection B shall be the sole penalty<\/span> for a violation of this section. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

D.<\/span> The provisions of this section shall not preclude prosecution<\/span> under any other statute<\/span>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nPROHIBITING POSSESSION OF RETAIL TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND HEMP PRODUCTS INTENDED FOR\nSMOKING BY A PERSON YOUNGER THAN 21 YEARS OF AGE; SEIZURE (\u00a7 18.2-371.2:1)\n\nA. No person younger than 21 years of age shall possess any retail tobacco\nproduct or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in\n§ 18.2-371.2. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to the\npossession of retail tobacco products or hemp products intended for smoking by a\nperson younger than 21 years of age (i) making a delivery of retail tobacco\nproducts or hemp products intended for smoking in pursuance of his employment or\n(ii) as part of a scientific study being conducted by an organization for the\npurpose of medical research to further efforts in cigarette and tobacco use\nprevention and cessation and tobacco product regulation, provided that such\nmedical research has been approved by an institutional review board pursuant to\napplicable federal regulations or by a research review committee pursuant to\nChapter 5.1 (§ 32.1-162.16 et seq.) of Title 32.1. This subsection shall\nnot apply to the possession of any retail tobacco product or hemp product\nintended for smoking by a law-enforcement officer or his agent when the same is\nnecessary in the performance of his duties.\n\nB. Any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those\nterms are defined in § 18.2-371.2, possessed in violation of this section\nshall be deemed contraband and may be seized by a law-enforcement officer. Any\nsuch product, the lawful possession of which is not established, seized by such\nofficer shall be forfeited and disposed of according to the process described in\nsubdivision A 2 of § 19.2-386.23.\n\nC. The seizure of contraband pursuant to subsection B shall be the sole penalty\nfor a violation of this section.\n\nD. The provisions of this section shall not preclude prosecution under any other\nstatute.\n\nHISTORY: 2025, cc. 595, 596.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}