The Storm Lake Police Department is continuing their involvement in the I-PLEDGE program to help keep tobacco, alternative nicotine, and vapor products out of the hands of those who are underage.
The program is a partnership with the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division to educate local retailers, and to enforce Iowa’s tobacco, alternative nicotine, and vapor product laws. Since the inception of I-PLEDGE in the year 2000, the statewide tobacco compliance rate has grown to 95-percent.
I-PLEDGE places emphasis on retailer training. Clerks who successfully 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. Officers will also be conducting compliance checks on local establishments as part of the I-PLEDGE program. Underage customers, under the supervision of law enforcement officials, will enter establishments and attempt to buy tobacco, alternative nicotine, and vapor products. Clerks who make the illegal sale will be cited on the spot.
Criminal penalties for selling tobacco, alternative nicotine and vapor products to an underage purchaser include a $135 fine for a first offense, a $325 fine for a second offense, and a $645 fine for third and subsequent offenses.
