(Denison) Each year, the Iowa State Patrol partners with the Iowa Department of Revenue to provide education on alternative nicotine and vapor products.
Iowa State Patrol Trooper and Public Information Officer Shelby McCreedy says the program is a partnership with the Iowa Department of Revenue to educate local retailers and to enforce Iowa’s tobacco, alternative nicotine, and vapor product laws. McCreedy says I-Pledge emphasizes retailer training. Clerks who complete an online training course and then pass an exam will become I-Pledge-certified. This allows a retail establishment to use an affirmative defense against a civil penalty if the certified clerk makes an illegal sale.
Trooper McCreedy says that as part of this program, the Iowa State Patrol will conduct compliance checks at various businesses throughout the state to ensure tobacco products are not sold to underage people.
Criminal penalties for selling tobacco, alternative nicotine, and vapor products to a minor include a $135.00 fine for the first offense, a $325.00 fine for a second offense, and a $545 fine for a third and subsequent offenses. Trooper McCreedy emphasizes that handing out citations is not the intent of the I-PLEDGE program.
