A Philadelphia ordinance banning the sale of cigars and single cigarettes used by illegal drug-takers was partly thrown out and partly upheld yesterday by a divided appeals court.

The Commonwealth Court majority invalidated a January 2007 ban on flavored tobacco products and on cigarettes sold individually or in pairs, making them likely to be used for drugs.

But the court said it was permissible for the city to prohibit retailers from selling certain tobacco drug paraphernalia, such as hollowed-out cigars known as “blunts.”

The difference is that the ban on blunts requires proof that the seller knows or should know they would be used for drugs, the court said. The ordinance’s provisions regarding flavored tobacco and single cigarettes do not include that language.

A Philadelphia judge had previously ruled that the ordinance was unenforceable and was preempted by the state’s Controlled Substance Act.
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