Testing

(1) No cigarette may be sold or offered for sale in the Commonwealth or offered for sale or sold to persons located in the Commonwealth unless the cigarettes have been tested in accordance with, and meet the performance standard of M.G.L. c. 64C, § 2B. (2) Each cigarette listed in a certification to the Secretary, which uses lowered permeability bands in the cigarette paper to achieve compliance with the performance standard shall have no less than two nominally identical bands on the paper surrounding the tobacco column. The position of these bands on said cigarettes shall conform to the requirements of M.G.L. c. 64C, § 2B. (3) If the Secretary determines that a cigarette cannot be tested in accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 64C, § 2B, the manufacturer shall propose a test method and performance standard for such cigarette to the Secretary who shall determine, in consultation with the Commissioner, whether said standard is equivalent to the prescribed standard. If the proposed standard is approved by the Secretary, the manufacturer may employ such method to certifyits cigarettes in conformance with M.G.L. c. 64C, § 2C. All other applicable requirements of M.G.L. c. 64C, §§ 2A through 2F shall apply. All records of such test results and performance standards shall be kept by the manufacturer for three years and shall be sent upon request to the Secretary and the Attorney General of the Commonwealth. (4) The Secretary may adopt a subsequent ASTM standard or another state’s cigarette test method, providing: The subsequent method does not result in a decrease in the percentage of full-length burns when compared to the same cigarette tested in accordance with ASTM Standard E2187-09.