Iowa's Retailers Make Steady Progress in Fight to Reduce Teen Tobacco Sales

Des Moines, Iowa (August 24, 2001) – Iowa tobacco retailers continued to make steady progress in the fight to keep tobacco products out of the hands of Iowa’s youth this past year. The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, the state agency charged with enforcing Iowa’s new tobacco laws, announced today that 82% of Iowa’s tobacco retailers were found compliant during compliance checks conducted this past fiscal year (July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2001).

Each of Iowa’s approximate 5,000 tobacco outlets were checked at least once, and most were checked twice, during that period. In all, the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, in coordination with 202 local law enforcement partners and the Iowa State Patrol, conducted 7,917 compliance checks throughout Iowa. Retailers were found compliant in 6,496 of the checks, while only making the sale to the underage buyers 1,428 times.

The 82% statewide compliance rate marks a significant increase since a statistical sampling of the state’s retail compliance rate last fall put Iowa at 71%, and a steady improvement from the 79% compliance rate announced midway through the checks last spring. “The current compliance rate is yet another move in the right direction,” observed Lynn Walding, Administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, “Iowa started out at a dismal 63% compliance rate two years ago and continues on course towards being 100% compliant. The success marks one more step towards the state’s goal of zero tobacco sales to minors.”

Walding credited tobacco retailers and local law enforcement for the improvement. The Iowa Pledge Program, developed by the Iowa ABD last fall, asks Iowa’s kids to take the pledge not to use tobacco products, Iowa’s retailers to pledge not to sell tobacco products to kids and Iowa’s law enforcement to pledge to enforce Iowa’s new tobacco laws.

Scott Haven, a member of the Iowa Tobacco Advisory Committee (ITACom) and owner of Scott’s Super Value in Norwalk, praised the program and challenged retailers across Iowa to improve on the gains. “Iowa retailers, across the state, are committed to keeping tobacco away from kids. The strides announced today attest to that commitment on behalf of responsible vendors in Iowa. Collectively, however, all retailers must recommit themselves to doing an even better job in the future.”

Retailers caught selling tobacco products to persons under the age of 18 are subject to a $300 civil fine for the first offense, with subsequent violations resulting in progressive sanctions of 30-day and 60-day suspensions, with revocation of the retail tobacco permit for a forth violation within three years. At the same time, a clerk that sells tobacco to an underage buyer commits a simple misdemeanor and is subject to progressive fines of $100, $250 and $500. Minors caught using, in possession or attempting to purchase tobacco are subject to a $50 civil fine and 8 hours of community service for a first offense.

The good news comes at a time when local law enforcement agencies are signing up to continue their commitment to keeping tobacco products out of the hands of Iowa’s kids by agreeing to work in coordination with the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division to enforce the state’s tobacco laws and conduct compliance checks on local tobacco retailers. Already, 180 local police departments and sheriff‘s offices throughout Iowa have taken the Iowa Pledge to provide tobacco enforcement again this year. The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division intends to check each Iowa tobacco retailer at least twice during the current fiscal year (July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002) and the second year of the program.

Editor's Note: The following documents have been attached for your information:

1. Tobacco compliance rates by county (pdf file, 24K), including, for each county, the total number of tobacco retailers checked, the total number of compliance checks conducted, and lastly, the total number of violations in each county.
2. Tobacco compliance rates by retail type (pdf file, 8K)