(Ankeny, IA) — The Ankeny Police department is partnering with the Iowa Department of Revenue in a program to improve local retailers’ compliance with state tobacco and vaping laws.
The I-PLEDGE program began in 2000, and since then the state’s tobacco compliance rate among retails is up to over 90 percent. The Ankeny Police Department will be checking for compliance by sending supervised minors to retailers asking to buy tobacco, nicotine, or vaping products. Any clerk caught making an illegal sale will face a citation. Clerks who complete a course through the program will receive an I-PLEDGE certification.
Iowa law includes criminal penalties for selling tobacco, vapor products, and alternative nicotine. A first and second offenses carry fines of $135 and $325, respectively. Third and subsequent offenses carry a fine of $645…